


T r i a n g l e s

by Angelpetal83



Category: Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Romance, College, Crack, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, Love Triangles, M/M, Misunderstandings, Romance, Romantic Comedy, TeukChul, Unrequited Love, yehyuk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 25,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelpetal83/pseuds/Angelpetal83
Summary: Leeteuk has crushed on Yesung ever since he first heard the latter’s beautiful singing voice. It's why he often sneaks glances at Yesung in the library where he always hangs out.Unfortunately, Heechul, Yesung’s best friend who sticks to him like glue, notices Leeteuk’s admiring glances and mistakes them as meant for him instead.After that, everything goes downhill real fast.[TeukChul/YeTeuk/YeHyuk; Short-chapter updates]
Relationships: Kim Heechul/Park Jungsoo | Leeteuk, Kim Jongwoon | Yesung/Lee Hyukjae | Eunhyuk
Comments: 50
Kudos: 129





	1. O n e .

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This work is pure fiction. The relationships established in this story are complete fabrications and are not based on any real-life indications of the members’ sexual orientations. This work is also not meant to disrespect or mock any real-life relationships the members have. This was basically created for the sake of entertainment purposes only. In addition, the author does not have any intentions of assuming the celebrities’ feelings, family, romantic, and platonic relationships, and what goes on during real-life events. Everything is fiction or created out of imagination.
> 
> About the story: This will contain short updates only due to my hectic schedules. I can’t promise regular updates, but I will keep on writing this whenever I have free time. Also, this is my first time writing a boyxboy relationship/feelings, so I apologize in advance for my inadequacies.
> 
> Narrower descriptions of relationships in this story: TeukChul will be the main ship. YeTeuk is there, but it oozes more platonic vibes instead of romantic. YeHyuk will be focused more eventually as the story progresses. EunHae are best friends and only have a platonic friendship; same goes for KyuWook and YeChul.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_O_ n** **e .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

_**I**_ t was midday morning. The library wasn’t crowded like usual, which was how Leeteuk liked it. He had always preferred quiet places like this instead of hanging out at the school campus like his friends Donghae and Eunhyuk did, or practice endlessly in empty classrooms like Kyuhyun and Ryeowook with the upcoming school festival. Normally, he’d go and give them his support, silently cheering on their efforts and giving feedback from an audience’s perspective, but nowadays he felt more like reading a good book in silence.

That, and Leeteuk always knew that the library was where Jongwoon — or _Yesung_ , in his case, since they weren’t close enough to call each other by their real names yet — often was.

Because Leeteuk often spent his time at the library, he knew Yesung’s habits like the back of his hand. Yesung would often take his time by the bookshelves, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he searched for a book that would catch his fancy. After that, Yesung would go sit by the table near the open window, letting the wind blow through his dark tresses.

Leeteuk liked looking at Yesung. There was just something different and ethereal about the man, the way his bangs fell on his eyes, the way he’d purse his lips as he read through his book, the way his posture was straight yet relaxed at the same time, and the way the sun’s rays shone partly on the right side of his face, giving the illusion that his skin was glittering.

All in all, Leeteuk was mesmerized by him.

It had all started when Leeteuk got lost while trying to find Ryeowook in the Music Building. He had never stepped into this department before since he was in a different major than Ryeowook, plus it was daunting to be in a building where you didn’t know anyone except for your two friends who were most probably _anywhere_ at that point. Since Ryeowook’s phone broke a few days ago and hadn’t replaced it yet (and Kyuhyun’s battery was dead; the kid probably spent too much time playing games on it), Leeteuk was forced to venture through the rooms to find his dongsaeng and return the music sheets Ryeowook had left back at his house when they had a sleepover.

That was when he stumbled into the empty music stadium.

At the entrance, he listened to the smooth instrumental and noticed the lone figure on the stage seated on a high stool with a microphone in front of him which was attached to a stand. The man had dark hair with long fringes and wore a brown coat over a black shirt and dark-blue jeans. There was a relaxed professionalism to the way he held the microphone and the way he would occasionally bring the microphone away from his lips whenever he gradually went for the high notes. His voice was deep and soothing, somewhat husky. He was singing a sad song that stabbed Leeteuk in the chest.

🎵🎶 “ _They are such easy words_

 _But why was it so hard to say I love you back then?_ ”

…

“ _The light is on in your room, I can see you faintly_

_I tried calling out your name_

_It feels like my voice could reach you_

_It feels like my heart could reach you_

_Please open this closed door_

_Come back to me._ ” 🎶🎵

…

_THUMP._

Leeteuk yelped when his foot accidentally hit the back of the seat near the entrance. Yesung’s head had snapped up towards the direction of the sound, but all he saw was a faint blur of a person escaping towards the open door.

After that, Leeteuk started to visit the Music Department more often just to get at least a glimpse of Yesung under the pretense of visiting 'his favorite dongsaengs'. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were skeptical, but they bought his response as him wanting to encourage them more for the upcoming school festival in a few months since they could be scouted by agencies during their performance. Leeteuk knew that it was their dream to become professional singers and he supported them all the way.

However, when things began to slightly become suspicious, Leeteuk had no choice but to cut back on his visits.

And then one day, when he was in the library, he decided to go to a different section where he normally didn't stay because the books there weren't his usual genre.

There was Yesung, standing behind one of the bookshelves.

Leeteuk had then found out, after visiting the library at the same time and place a few times, that this part of the library was Yesung's safe haven.

 _I want to go up to him and talk…_ Leeteuk thought to himself as he sneaked another glance at Yesung while pretending to read the book in front of him. But _I don't know how to strike a conversation, and I might get seen as creepy… since guys don't usually do that._

All his life, Leeteuk dated a few girls, some older than him, and he had been attracted to them, sure, but later on, he also realized that he could be attracted to guys as well. It was a scary and foreign feeling, but after trying out going steady with a guy back in his senior years in high school, he found the experience just as heart-racing and riveting as it was when he was dating girls. The only difference was that people sometimes judged him and his partner because of their homophobia. However, since their country was starting to embrace the culture of same-sex relationships, it wasn't all that bad in the long run. It wasn't a foreign thing to people anymore and a lot actually respect this fact, but there would always be some who would oppose it, even _publicly_.

Leeteuk's thoughts wandered back to his past lover. Kangin had been really sweet despite his manly and tough exterior, and he had also been very encouraging and supportive of Leeteuk during the latter's difficult times. Leeteuk would always remember him and be grateful to him, and he was glad that both of them had parted on good terms. They had been close friends before they went into a relationship, so it was an easier transition.

They had broken up mutually due to their busy schedules; Kangin with his studies to prepare to go abroad, and Leeteuk working hard to get into a good college. They had both loved each other, but the exciting romance soon faded. They still texted each other often, but not as much as before.

Leeteuk sighed fondly at the nostalgic memories, then found himself lifting his gaze back to Yesung once more. What he felt for Yesung was more of admiration and intrigue rather than romantic attraction, but he couldn't deny that he wanted to get to know the man better. It was just a small crush, but there was some sort of yearning as well.

However, Leeteuk just couldn't muster the courage to walk up to him and strike a conversation. That kind of situation could turn into something embarrassing real quick, and he didn't want to put Yesung into that kind of humiliation in case he found Leeteuk's actions creepy.

So Leeteuk just contented himself with watching. And it was fine. After all, he was a very patient person, and his naïve, ambitious days were over.

Perhaps someday, they could get into a situation where they could freely become friends, but it didn’t seem like it could happen anytime soon.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

_**T** here he goes again, _ Heechul thought to himself as he groaned internally, feeling uncomfortable.

Unconsciously, his hand wrapped around Yesung's arm.

Yesung stopped reading his book and turned towards his best friend, his eyes questioning. "What's the matter, Heebongie?" he asked, and there was slight amusement lacing his words. "You keep sighing by yourself lately."

Heechul looked at Yesung, repressing the urge to sigh once more. He couldn't possibly _tell_ Yesung about his dilemma; it wasn't worth saying, anyway. He knew that Yesung would do any means to 'help him out', and Heechul didn't want any of that. Plus, he could take care of himself. He wanted to resolve this matter himself with his own hands.

"It's nothing, Yesung-ah," Heechul said, resting his head on Yesung's shoulder. "I'm just tired. The professor keeps giving me more work."

Yesung scoffed good-naturedly. "That's because you keep skipping his classes. That's your karma," he scolded.

Heechul waved his hands dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, okay, mom. No need to nag at me… _again_."

Yesung sighed, going back to his book. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

Heechul smirked. However, at the corner of his eye, he caught that guy glancing at him again and he sighed internally. _Is this the effect of my beauty that it even attracts guys? Gosh, I'm too perfect…_

Heechul drew his arm back from Yesung and rested his chin on his palm, his elbow propped against the table as he observed the guy who kept sneaking glances at him. He wasn't actually that bad-looking, but his bangs and glasses were obscuring most of his features, so Heechul couldn't give a full opinion about the guy's looks.

However, even if he looked nice or not, there was still the matter of the staring. When Heechul rested his head on Yesung's shoulder earlier, he had seen the sad look on the guy's face before he hastily turned back to his book, pretending that he hadn't been watching. It made Heechul feel sorry for the guy, but if the attracted vibes he kept getting were true, he just couldn't let the guy hope even more, so he had to _crush_ the feelings before it turned into something more. Besides, it would _never_ work out. Heechul was as straight as a rod, and he only liked girls. It was best to reject the guy before anything went deeper.

 _All right, I'll confront him about his feelings later after school,_ Heechul decided, proud of himself for his choice. He was going to do this poor guy a favor and encourage him to look at other guys instead, especially ones who swung that way. _Or_ if he was bisexual, Heechul had a few girls who he could recommend. It was the _perfect_ plan.

Heechul grinned, then leaned back against his chair, planning to doze off until their free period ended. There was plenty of time.


	2. T w o .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_T_ ** **w o .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_B_** y the time classes ended, Heechul went out of the classroom with Yesung in tow, already planning the words he'd say to the poor lovestruck guy.

 _I should break it to him gently first. And if he doesn't accept the reality, I'll have to be harsh_ , Heechul thought to himself dramatically. _I don't want to have to do this, but I have no choice. Oh, woe is me!_

Meanwhile, Yesung was looking at him strangely. "Heebong-ah, are you okay?" he asked tentatively, watching as Heechul was still frozen in a dramatic position of resting his forehead against his fist with his eyes fluttering closed.

"It's nothing, Yesung-ah," Heechul said, opening his eyes and sending his friend a somewhat pitiful glance. "You… are so lucky that you're not popular like me — _OUCH_!"

Yesung had promptly whacked his friend at the back of his head, his expression looking like he was too used to Heechul's occasional bouts of narcissism. "There you go again…" He sighed. "So who's the poor girl you're gonna reject this time?"

"That's _exactly_ my problem, Yesung-ah." Heechul sighed exaggeratedly. "It would've been easier if it were a girl. There would be a possibility of me gaining an interest in her!"

Yesung whipped his head towards him. "Wait, the one who confessed to you was a guy?? _Daebak_!" Since Yesung was bisexual himself, a fact that only Heechul knew about — not because Yesung didn't want people to know about his sexuality, but because people didn't even _notice_ him in the first place, much less wanted to get to know him. Heechul was, _quite_ literally, his only friend in school.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating things a bit. There was Siwon, the student body president, who always greeted and made small talk with him whenever they passed by each other. There was also Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, who were his juniors and had talent in singing. Lastly, there was Eunhyuk and Donghae, the close-knitted duo who almost never left each other's sides. They were all still acquaintances, but at least these people noticed him and made natural efforts to talk to him. His other classmates were either just too indifferent or too focused on other things to pay attention to a loner who was always sitting at the back of the class. That was how college mostly worked, anyway.

"Yeah, I know," Heechul agreed with his friend. "But I can't. I'm straight; I don't find guys attractive _at_ all." Heechul sighed once more, causing Yesung to shake his head at the other's constant dramatics. "Which is why I gotta reject him before his feelings grow even deeper. Don't you agree with me, Yesung-ah?"

If Yesung were being honest with himself, he didn't really like the idea of rejection. He had always been sensitive to this kind of thing — especially when it came to hurting others' feelings. He knew that Heechul was right and it was better to be honest rather than give the guy false hope, but Yesung still secretly wished that there was some other way to break the news gently without having to end up with an eventual heartbreak.

"Okay, okay, I got it," Yesung relented, patting his friend on the back. "Make sure not to hurt his feelings too much with that tactless mouth of yours, all right?"

Heechul swatted his friend's hand away, looking offended. "I do _not_ have a tactless mouth! I am the softest, gentlest, _purest_ human being—"

By the time Heechul was preparing to finish his spiel, Yesung had already disappeared into the corner.

"That _jerk_ …! Hey, I wasn't even done talking yet!!"

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_L_** eeteuk felt relieved when the bell finally rang. He was already tired trying his best to process the equations his professor had written meticulously on the large whiteboard, and the fact that math class was his last subject of the day — on a _late afternoon,_ to be specific — didn't help matters with his mental exhaustion.

As he tiredly began to place his things back inside his bag, he made a mental note to ask Kyuhyun about how to derive equations and differentiate them. Kyuhyun was great in math and was good at teaching it, too. The only payment he wanted to accept from Leeteuk was a homemade dinner and an impromptu sleepover, which fit right into Leeteuk's frugal budget since he was currently living in a small apartment near the university.

 _I wonder what Yesung does when he gets home,_ Leeteuk thought to himself absently as he slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the classroom. _Does he work on his homework the moment he arrives at his room like I do? Or does he wash up first and do some chores before delving into schoolwork?_

Leeteuk didn't really want to admit it — it was still slightly embarrassing for him — but his curiosity and interest in Yesung kept growing day by day. Perhaps it was because he didn't _know_ the man at all. Plus, he never mentioned his admiration about Yesung to any of his friends, not even to his older sister. Even the fact that Yesung had a deep, beautiful voice was a secret he kept in his heart.

As to why Leeteuk kept his true feelings hidden, he didn't know, but he just felt content with watching from afar. It didn't matter if he and Yesung would never speak to each other — although the thought of it sent a pang in his chest. As long as Leeteuk could still see him and discover more things about him at a distance, it was fine.

And even if Yesung was in love or was dating the guy friend he was always with, that was fine, too. Leeteuk wasn't ambitious nor confident enough in his feelings, anyway. If Yesung was a nobody in school, _he_ was the same. They were both people who were content by being invisible on the sidelines, who didn't mind even if they didn't have many friends. It was one of the reasons why Leeteuk felt connected to Yesung, even if it was just a small thing.

 _I gotta buy some ingredients for kimchi stew and tteokbokki,_ Leeteuk mused to himself as he reached the outside road leading to the school gates. _Kyuhyun always asks for these recipes, everytime._

He chuckled to himself internally. Kyuhyun was the maknae of their little group even though he was the tallest and had the most mature-looking face. The others, especially Leeteuk, _loved_ to dote on him. Yes, even when he was often in one of his usual savage moods.

Leeteuk was about a few steps away from the gates when someone suddenly blocked his way.

Startled, Leeteuk stared at the person before him. He was about the same height as he was and had beautiful, appealing features.

He also looked _very_ familiar.

"Y—Yes?" Leeteuk stammered, having been caught off-guard by this guy's sudden movement.

The guy stared at him as if he were appraising him, his cat-like eyes moving up and down Leeteuk's entirety. Then, after a few seconds, he smirked.

Leeteuk suddenly did not like that look on his face.


	3. T h r e e .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_T_ ** **h r e e .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_"W_** hat's your name?" Heechul asked, his voice coming out velvety smooth and he couldn't be any more proud of himself.

However, instead of being flustered and a blushy mess, the guy just stared at him, pure confusion written all over his features. Heechul could even see the guy's eyes widening behind those thick lenses of his.

"E—Excuse me?" the guy squeaked out, sounding very much surprised.

Heechul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Could this guy be _any_ more dense? He then took a deep breath. _Calm yourself, Heenim… You promised to yourself that you'll be very kind to this poor nerd… You swore to show him your kindest side…_

_Yes, that's it… Must resist the temptation to open my mouth and fire off savage remarks…_

"What's your name?" Heechul repeated, giving the stranger one of his best smiles. _He should melt into a puddle of goo with this one, hehe~!_

However, the guy just kept on staring at him as if he were an alien species. "I'm… Lee… teuk…?" he answered unsurely, his voice dripping with discomfort as he shuffled his feet together in an act of embarrassment.

Heechul raised an eyebrow. "Okay… so, I finally get to know the name of my mysterious secret admirer," he said smoothly, pacing around Leeteuk leisurely as he eyed the man with appraising eyes. "What's your last name?"

Leeteuk's head spun. _Secret admirer? What's this guy talking about?_ "It's Park… but Leeteuk isn't my real name…" he told the man cautiously, his gaze wary as he took an inconspicuous step backwards. "Also, I don't think I understand what you meant by secret admirer…"

To Leeteuk's surprise, Heechul suddenly flipped his hair like a diva, his lips curving into a knowing smirk.

"Hey, don't worry. I already know _all_ about it," Heechul told him in a reassuring tone. "I'd be blind if I didn't notice the admiring glances you kept giving me, especially in the library. You're not _exactly_ the inconspicuous type, no offense. But no worries, I'm a _very_ understanding man. _Very_ open-minded, too! Although I am truly very grateful for your feelings, I'm afraid I must force you to end it right here. I'm very much a _man_ who loves girls with every fiber of my being. You… well… you don't look so bad yourself, even with those prescription glasses you're wearing, but I'm not attracted to men…"

While Heechul was ranting the words he so carefully prepared for this moment, Leeteuk was listening and staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Uh, _what?_ " Leeteuk interrupted, furrowing his brows. "Wait, I think you're misunderstanding something here…"

Heechul, annoyed that Leeteuk interrupted him in the middle of his speech, gave him an unimpressed look. "Dude, if you're just gonna deny it, it won't do you any good—"

" _Dude_ , the one who I'm always looking at isn't _you_ ," Leeteuk said in annoyance, "but your _friend_. I am sorry, but I _don't_ have any feelings for you." At that moment, his phone buzzed inside his pocket, indicating that someone sent him a message. Kyuhyun, probably. He and Ryeowook were always finding ways to keep sleeping over at his apartment and mooch off his food. If Leeteuk had a spare room, he would've just told them to move in with him already. However, that wasn't the case, so he had to deal with two grown men cuddling beside him in his — _thankfully_ — large bed.

Not that he blamed them. Leeteuk knew very well about Kyuhyun and Ryeowook's family situations, which was why he always welcomed them into his small space and allowed them to stay there anytime.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to," Leeteuk told Heechul as politely as he could, taking his phone out of his pocket and starting to walk away.

 _He's handsome, but he's weird. I don't like him already._ Leeteuk shook his head and went on his way, his mind already forgetting about Heechul. He always forgot the unimportant things, anyway.

Meanwhile, Heechul was standing in the same position, slack-jawed and humiliated.

He had never wished _so_ desperately for a hole to appear below him and swallow him and his embarrassment.


	4. F o u r .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_F_ ** **o u r .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

* * *

**iMessage**

* * *

**Cho Kyuhyun**

Hyung, where are you?

**You**

I'm at the mart buying groceries. Why?

**Cho Kyuhyun**

Which mart? Ryeowook and I will go there.

**You**

Daejun Mart. Help me carry the bags afterwards.

* * *

Leeteuk hummed as he picked out some fresh vegetables in the fresh goods aisle. Tonight was going to be chaotic again, what with Kyuhyun and Ryeowook's usual animated midnight talks.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed again.

* * *

**iMessage**

* * *

**Lee Hyukjae**

Hyung!!

**You**

Eunhyuk-ah? What is it?

**Lee Hyukjae**

Where are you?

**You**

I'm at the mart. Why?

**Lee Hyukjae**

Donghae and I are in your apartment! We're gonna crash here tonight. Thanks hyung, saranghae~

* * *

Leeteuk groaned. _It's like I'm running an orphanage or something…_

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

* * *

**iMessage**

* * *

**Kim Jongwoon**

So how did it go, Heebong-ah?

**You**

Jongwoon-aaaaaahhhhhh T_T

**Kim Jongwoon**

What's wrong?? Why the crying emoji?

And you only call me Jongwoon whenever you're embarrassed or frustrated. What happened?

**You**

Jongwoon-aaaahhh… I don't wanna go to school anymore T_T I'm too embarrassed

**Kim Jongwoon**

Embarrassed??

Why?

Ah, is this about the guy who confessed to you? ㅋㅋㅋ Why? Did you accidentally accept his confession?

**You**

That's the thing… T_T

He never _actually_ confessed to me…

**Kim Jongwoon**

What do you mean?

**You**

I thought _I_ was the one he liked… Turns out it was someone else!! I'm so embarrassed, Jongwoon-ah!!

_Read 7:19 PM_

**You**

Yah!!!! I know you're laughing at me right now!!! Stop it!!!

**Kim Jongwoon**

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

TELL ME WHO HE IS

I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM HAHAHAHAH

**You**

YOU TRAITOR!!!!

* * *

Heechul stared at his phone for a moment and felt his heart sink.

He would never tell Yesung the truth. That Leeteuk liked him. He wasn't going to stoop _that_ low.

But… he just felt weird. Especially when later that night, he dreamt about a guy with familiar brown hair and glasses.


	5. F i v e .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_F_ ** **i v e .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_H_** eechul thought that he might actually be going crazy.

As he reluctantly trekked on his way to university — because Yesung threatened not to help him with his science homework if he didn't come to class today — he could feel his heart racing in an abnormal manner. He could see the school gates at a distance already, and every step he took made his palms sweat even more.

He didn't even understand _why_ he was acting like this. It was just a stupid misunderstanding! _Right??_ Besides, who cared about what that guy Leeteuk thought? They were strangers, after all! And he had never even noticed Leeteuk before, which meant that the man most probably kept to himself most of the time.

But what if someone had seen and overheard their conversation yesterday and an issue had started to spread across school?? He had a _golden_ reputation, damn it!

The more Heechul thought about it deeply, the more he became _so_ embarrassed that he could practically feel his ears burning red. It was a hot, sunny day, but Heechul could only feel a coldness spreading all throughout his body and a feeling of dread sending his stomach to the pits. It was true that he had never been rejected before, especially when he turned on his irresistible charms.

Well, technically, he had never been rejected before… by _girls_.

And now it was his first time getting rejected.

By a _guy_.

A guy who didn’t even _like_ him.

Heck, he didn’t even seem to know _who_ he was!

Heechul groaned, resisting the urge to scratch his hair out. _I am so doomed…_

As Heechul started to contemplate skipping classes — he could just ask one of his ex-girlfriends to help him with his science homework, anyway! — he suddenly stopped in his tracks, feeling his heart skip several beats as his breath caught up in his throat.

That damn fluffy-looking brown hair and those overly familiar black glasses came into his vision as he neared the gates. He had been walking on the pavement beside the university's walls while coming from the south direction.

Leeteuk, on the other hand, was across the road coming from the north, his fingers busily typing something on his iPhone. His head was ducked and there was nothing especially eye-catching about his appearance or anything that made him stand out, but Heechul noticed and recognized him immediately.

How could he _not_ , when he had vividly dreamt of that same face just the night before and his _damn_ memories decided to play their humiliating conversation from yesterday _over_ and _over_ again??

Heechul just stood there, slack-jawed and ready to run for his life when an arm suddenly made its way across his shoulder.

"Heebong-ah~" Yesung's familiar voice resounded in his right ear as the man himself appeared beside him. " _Good morning!_ "

Heechul froze. Then his eyes darted back to Leeteuk.

The sound of Yesung's voice must have reached the other man's ears, because Leeteuk's head was raised and he was staring at them in surprise. To Heechul's mortification, Leeteuk's gaze rested on him for a brief moment before they landed back on Yesung.

Thankfully, Yesung didn't seem to notice Heechul's panic and he also didn't see Leeteuk across from them.

"So tell me _all_ about what happened yesterday!" Yesung urged loudly, his eyes sparkling as he seemed excited to know more juicy details. "Was he _cute_? How did he reject you? Have you actually secretly _liked_ him all this time??"

Leeteuk's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

Heechul, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to die at that exact spot and fly up to the clouds to disappear from this damned tortuous world.

... _Or_ he could just strangle and kill Yesung right then and there. Yeah, that would probably make him feel a _lot_ better.


	6. S i x .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_S_ ** **i x .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_W_** hen Leeteuk came home to his apartment the night before, he had been greeted by two familiar grinning faces as they waved at him from the small living room.

" _Hyung_! You're home??" Donghae greeted warmly with a bright smile, jumping out of his sitting position from the couch. "Ah, and Kyuhyunnie and Ryeowookie are here, too!"

"Oh?" Kyuhyun's head popped out from behind Leeteuk as he stepped inside ahead of his hyung. "Eunhyuk-hyung? Donghae-hyung? Why're you two here?"

Eunhyuk grinned. "We missed Teukie-hyung's cooking," he answered, his gaze sparkling as they rested on Leeteuk.

"Yah, you brats," Leeteuk complained, but with natural affection lacing his tone, "you all keep on mooching off my food and space. I'm just a university student like you guys, not a single mom."

Donghae appeared beside Leeteuk and embraced the latter into a warm, tight hug. "But you _are_ our mom, Teukie-hyung," he said cutely.

Leeteuk's heart melted. He had always had a soft spot for Donghae, especially because he considered the latter like his own real younger brother after his dad died and left Donghae in his care. It had been a very difficult time for Donghae; thankfully, he had Leeteuk and Eunhyuk with him, so he never felt alone.

"Hey, don't hog hyung all by yourself," Eunhyuk complained, appearing from Leeteuk's other side and proceeding to squish the older into another tight embrace.

Leeteuk was about to tell them to stop, to tell them that their arms were blocking the airway down his throat, but unfortunately, Kyuhyun and Ryeowook grabbed that opportunity to sandwich him, leaving him with no loophole to escape.

"Y—You brats… _can't_ … _eathe_ …"

"Hm?" Donghae hummed. "What did you say, Teukie-hyung?"

"Can… br… the…!!! _Let… g…!!!_ "

Eunhyuk looked confused. "Can we _what_? Bring the lettuce??"

It was Kyuhyun (the only brain in their group) who realized what was going on. "Let go, we're suffocating hyung!" he exclaimed, immediately stepping back to give Leeteuk some air. However, he couldn't contain the laughter that came out of his lips.

Meanwhile, Eunhyuk and Donghae were horrified. "We're so sorry, hyung!!" they chorused, bowing frantically in apology while Leeteuk kept on coughing to bring the air back into his lungs.

"Don't be dramatic," Ryeowook said flatly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Leeteuk-hyung will live."

"Leave them alone, this is fun to watch," Kyuhyun said eagerly.

Leeteuk cried inside. _What did I do to deserve such brats like them in my life…_

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_"S_** o, aside from your rehearsals with Wookie, how's your musical practice going, Kyuhyun-ah?" Donghae asked conversationally as they all took hefty bites of the hearty meal Leeteuk prepared for them.

“It’s fine. I’ve been enjoying it so far,” Kyuhyun replied, taking another bite of his favorite tteokbokki. “I’ve always liked reenacting the classics. The story of _Ghost_ always gets to me.”

“You should do _Romeo and Juliet_ next time!” Donghae suggested brightly. He loved reading that book.

Kyuhyun was thoughtful for a moment. “It’s an overdone classic at our school… but, well… they haven’t had a Romeo like _me_ before,” he boasted without even a hint of shame on his features.

Eunhyuk and Ryeowook both choked on their food. Leeteuk rubbed their backs gently.

“Yah, this kid, really,” Eunhyuk growled, coughing slightly.

“The fame has gotten to his head,” Ryeowook remarked flatly.

“You guys are just jealous that you all aren’t talented like me,” Kyuhyun said, adding oil to the flames.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Leeteuk intervened before things got out of hand. Yes, he knew that they were just playing and not taking things _that_ seriously, but he didn’t want to hear any of their bickering tonight, especially not during dinner. “All of you have your own talents and I adore each one of you. Now, today’s a school night, so let’s not stay up too late, all right?”

The atmosphere instantly livened up into that of a warm one. “Yes, hyung!” the younger ones responded obediently. After all, _they_ were the ones crashing into their hyung’s apartment and eating all his food. It was only fair.

However, they didn’t get to sleep much later that night because of their usual midnight talks. Leeteuk was listening to them all politely, but all he was thinking inside his head was how he could drift off to sleep without any of them noticing.

He could just silently lay his head on his pillow… nobody was paying attention to him, anyway. Ryeowook was busy detailing what happened earlier in practice, his hand gestures animated as he recounted the way Kyuhyun had suddenly coughed violently while they were rehearsing. Kyuhyun kept on interrupting Ryeowook as the older one (by months) spoke, defending himself by explaining that dust suddenly entered his mouth the moment he was about to hit the high notes. Meanwhile, Eunhyuk and Donghae were guffawing, pointing hysterically at Kyuhyun’s flustered expression which was growing redder by the minute.

As much as Leeteuk wanted to have fun with them and laugh along, he was exhausted, and he kept thinking that there was something he was supposed to ask Kyuhyun about but promptly forgot all about it due to his increasing sleepiness.

However, just before he began to slowly let his body fall on the bed without anyone noticing, Donghae’s loud voice suddenly filled the room.

“Ah, Teukie-hyung!” he exclaimed, eyes wide as he nudged Eunhyuk. “I forgot to ask you earlier! Can you help me and Eunhyuk with our literature project? _Please_??”

Leeteuk’s hazy brain tried to register the words that came out of Donghae’s lips. “H—Huh?” he mumbled. “You mean _now_?”

Donghae nodded hopefully, his eyes sparkling as they stared at him. Leeteuk couldn’t find it in his heart to say no.

“All right…” Leeteuk gave in.

To Leeteuk’s dismay, they spent two hours working on the project that night, and when they finally finished, it was nearing three in the morning.

And their first class was starting at nine.

 _The things I do for love…_ Leeteuk wailed to himself internally as he finally reached his bed. He promptly plopped on it before getting his much-needed rest.


	7. S e v e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_S_ ** **e v e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_A_** s they trudged towards school the next day, Eunhyuk seemed a bit jittery whereas Donghae was listening to music with his headphones, looking relaxed and carefree as he stared up at the sky with his hands inside his pockets. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were still sleeping and Leeteuk hadn't had the heart to wake them up; since the two had majors in music, their schedule started a bit later, so Leeteuk let them sleep for a while and left a note saying to heat the leftovers in the fridge if they wanted to eat breakfast later.

“Hyung,” Eunhyuk suddenly said, causing Leeteuk to turn his head towards his dongsaeng.

“Oh, Eunhyuk-ah?” Leeteuk inquired, noting the hesitant look on Eunhyuk’s face. “Is something the matter?”

Eunhyuk’s gaze turned to Donghae beside him who still seemed to be in his own little world. He could even hear the ballad song coming from the speakers of his headphones.

Eunhyuk turned back to Leeteuk. “Hyung,” he repeated. “I have to tell you something.” A somewhat excited look adorned his features.

Leeteuk was confused, but listened anyway. “Sure. Tell me what’s on your mind—”

“AH!” Donghae suddenly shouted, and when the two men snapped their heads towards him, there was a shocked and panicked look on his face.

“Donghae??” Eunhyuk said, also shocked by his friend’s sudden outburst. “What’s wrong with you all of a sudden??”

Donghae grabbed Eunhyuk by the shoulders, shaking the latter with so much force that Eunhyuk thought his head was going to break off of his neck. “Eunhyuk-ah!! Our _project_!! We left it at Teukie-hyung’s apartment!!”

Eunhyuk’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “ _OH NO!!_ YOU’RE RIGHT!!”

“Wait, _wait!!_ ” Leeteuk interjected hastily, stopping his two dongsaengs from sprinting out of there as fast as they could. “Donghae-ya, are you _sure_ that you two left your project in my apartment?? Do you know what time it is now? You guys would have to wait for the bus again and you’ll be late. Check your bags first!”

Donghae and Eunhyuk did as their reasonable hyung told them to and immediately searched through the contents in their bags.

“...” Leeteuk looked at them worriedly, anxiously glancing at his watch. There were twenty minutes left before their class started and the school gates were just around the corner at the left. Even if the two ran for their lives, they’d still be late for at least five minutes.

“IT’S NOT HERE!” Eunhyuk wailed. “We worked on that for two hours!! If we don’t pass it later, the professor’s gonna drop us from his class!”

“Yah, let’s not waste any more time! Let’s go now!!” Donghae urged frantically, grabbing Eunhyuk by the arm and dashing off back to the direction of the bus stop. However, despite their rush, they didn’t forget to wave back at Leeteuk, who was looking after them with a worried expression on his face.

“Hyung!! See you later!” Donghae shouted.

“We’ll try to arrive on time!!” Eunhyuk promised. “Please stall our professor for us if you see him!!”

Leeteuk’s jaw dropped open. “...Yah, the nerve of these brats… is this still high school?! Such old tricks...”

Nevertheless, Leeteuk obeyed, grudgingly walking towards the direction of the school gates. “Those kids, really…” he muttered to himself, pulling out his phone and texting the two to remind them that his apartment key was hidden inside the secret opening in his potted plant outside. “I’m older than they are but their memory is already failing them…”

 _I wonder what Eunhyuk was going to tell me earlier though..._ Leeteuk wondered to himself absently as he continued typing on his phone. _It seemed a bit important. Something he didn’t want Donghae to hear just yet._

“Heebong-ah~ _good morning!_ ”

The familiar voice suddenly drifted into Leeteuk’s ears and his head snapped up reflexively, eyes wide as they landed on two familiar figures who were standing not too far away across him.

It was Yesung. It was actually _Yesung_. To be honest, Leeteuk didn’t really remember clearly what Yesung’s voice sounded like since they never spoke to each other, but Leeteuk had heard him talk to Eunhyuk and Donghae a couple of times. Yesung had this deep, slightly husky voice, nothing uncommon in their university, but somehow Leeteuk just _knew_ that it was him who spoke.

And he looked fresh this morning, too, unlike Leeteuk who was wearing plain clothes and didn’t even bother to style his hair today. Yesung, on the other hand, dressed in simple yet neat clothes and had his bangs hiding most of his forehead in an elegant manner. There wasn’t really anything eye-catching about him since he wasn’t even wearing any accessories or fancy clothing, but Leeteuk’s eyes just drew towards him like the man was a magnet and he was metal.

There was also someone, however, who caught his eye, albeit briefly. It was the guy who Yesung was always with, one who Leeteuk recognized as his best friend. In all honesty, Leeteuk couldn’t remember the guy’s name, but he _did_ notice the man’s androgynous beauty. It was hard _not_ to after all, with his milky-white skin, refined features, and clean, stylish look. However, Leeteuk was neutral to that kind of beauty and only kept his gaze on the guy for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Yesung. He could still remember what happened between them yesterday, after all. The guy was too overconfident for his own good, and the way he assumed things about Leeteuk rubbed the latter the wrong way. He was never really fond of straightforward people who always said what they wanted to say before thinking them through carefully. Since Leeteuk was the type to think before acting on things, he tended to stray away from blunt people who were too different from him.

While Leeteuk was preoccupied with his thoughts as he continued gazing at Yesung, the latter suddenly spoke again in a loud voice.

"So tell me _all_ about what happened yesterday! Was he _cute_? How did he reject you? Have you actually secretly liked him all this time??"

And Leeteuk’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

_He’s… not… talking about me and that guy… right?!_


	8. E i g h t .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_E_ ** **i g h t .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_T_** here it was again. The accidental touch, the natural brushing of skin against skin. Eunhyuk could feel his fingers tingling by just the mere brief contact with his partner’s hand and swallowed the slight lump that formed in his throat.

“So, uh…” he spoke up, deciding to fill the silence with his voice. “What are we supposed to do again?”

Eunhyuk heard his partner sigh as the latter turned his head towards him.

“I thought you said you read the manual?” his partner asked with an exasperated tone to his voice. However, Eunhyuk could also detect a hint of amusement in it, as if his partner was already used to his actions.

“I—I did!” Eunhyuk said defensively. “I was just… testing if _you_ read it, too! I don’t wanna fail this subject, y’know!”

“There you go using informal speech with me again,” his partner said in annoyance. “I’m still your hyung, _y’know_.”

Eunhyuk waved his hand dismissively, playfully. “Yeah, yeah, Yesongie-hyung.”

To Eunhyuk’s surprise, Yesung suddenly laughed, the latter’s rich, deep voice making his heart race.

“You’re so cute. It’s okay, Eunhyuk-ah,” Yesung said fondly. “I know you love me.”

Eunhyuk swallowed another lump that formed in his throat and immediately denied Yesung’s words, proceeding to bully his hyung once more.

 _Yeah…_ he thought to himself as he stared at Yesung’s fond yet exasperated expression.

_I know I love you, too._


	9. N i n e .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_N_ ** **i n e .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_E_** unhyuk had been pondering over it for a while now. He wanted to share his feelings with someone, someone who wouldn't tease him for it nor overly support him. Eunhyuk wasn't the type to accept emotional reactions or anything like that; that kind of thing was awkward for him and he preferred sharing it with someone calm, someone who would listen carefully and not tell a soul.

Donghae was _definitely_ out of the question. Eunhyuk loved his friend, but Donghae was like a timebomb; he tended to be reckless with his words, just putting them out there, including _confidential_ secrets from his friends.

Ryeowook was definitely a no-no; his dongsaeng would just taunt him and discourage him with his usual savage remarks. Ryeowook was the kind of person who had a sharp tongue and wasn't afraid to use it. However, all of them knew that Ryeowook cared, but the latter's way of expressing his affection was just unique.

And Kyuhyun was _definitely_ out as well. The guy wasn't called evil maknae for nothing. Eunhyuk shuddered at the mere thought of telling Kyuhyun that he had a crush on Yesung. The maknae would _never_ let him live it down and would definitely ruin Eunhyuk's life.

So that left Leeteuk, and Eunhyuk didn't mind much, because their eldest hyung was the perfect one to confide in. Everyone had shared at least one secret with their Teukie hyung; Leeteuk was like the gravity that kept them on their toes, the one who was like the Earth and their home, someone who they could always come back to whenever they felt lost, both literally and figuratively. Eunhyuk could not think of anyone else more suitable to tell than Leeteuk.

Which was why he tried to talk to his hyung earlier that day. It had been the perfect moment; not only was he excited to see Yesung again, but Donghae was also preoccupied with something and wouldn't be able to hear his secret feelings. Again, it wasn't that he didn't _want_ to confide in his best friend, but it was known in their little group — heck, it could even be the _entire_ university — that Donghae was a _very_ bad liar.

Eunhyuk was snapped out of his thoughts when Leeteuk waved a hand in front of his face.

“Eunhyuk-ah? Is something the matter?” Leeteuk asked in concern.

Eunhyuk turned to him in response, blinking in surprise.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot today, and I never got the chance to hear what you were about to say back when we were walking to school together,” Leeteuk explained, taking off his glasses and running a hand through his messy brown hair. “If you’re ready to tell me now, I’m all ears.” His lips curved into a soft, knowing smile. “Perfect timing, too. Donghae isn’t here.”

Donghae had excused himself earlier after hastily eating his lunch, saying something about the professor asking to see him as soon as possible. Leeteuk and Eunhyuk knew that it was because Donghae had missed an important quiz three days ago due to a sudden cold, so the professor wanted to schedule a time when he’d be able to retake the test.

“Hyung, how did you know I didn’t want Donghae to hear?” Eunhyuk asked tentatively, feeling slightly embarrassed at being caught. He wasn’t an emotional person, after all. The sensitive souls in their group were Leeteuk and Donghae. Eunhyuk was usually just chill and didn’t have much heart-to-heart talks. That wasn’t his thing; despite his friendly exterior, he was careful about who he confided in and disliked being cheesy.

However, because he kept his feelings for Yesung a secret for far too long, he began to feel lonely without anyone knowing about his hidden yearning. Secretly, he wanted to have others supporting him, too. Maybe he could even settle for receiving their advice. _Anything_ at all, just as long as he would be able to talk about it with someone.

Eunhyuk took a deep breath, then let his eyes slowly roam around the room. He didn’t want to seem suspicious, so he schooled his expression into that of a bored sort of curiosity, gaze sweeping over girls and boys alike who were in the surroundings.

And then he spotted him.

Yesung had never really been the type to care about his looks. Of course, he dressed simply but nicely. However, there wasn’t anything eye-catching about him at all, mostly because of his long bangs that were obscuring most of his face. He was tall, but not tall enough to catch anyone’s attention. He had nice skin, but his rigid posture made him unnoticeable.

However, to Eunhyuk, at that moment, Yesung was the only one he could see.

“Hyung,” Eunhyuk said absently, “have I ever told you about this guy I like?”

Leeteuk looked surprised at this sudden unexpected topic, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he replied, “No, you haven’t…” Eunhyuk could feel Leeteuk’s curious gaze on him. “Do you… want to tell me who it is?”

That was what Eunhyuk secretly appreciated about Leeteuk. His hyung could be kind of pushy and nagging at times, but he knew when and how to respect boundaries.

“He’s my hyung, just like you,” Eunhyuk began, his heart pounding at the thought of his secret finally getting out. “He has dark hair and always hangs around this one guy, especially at the library. And his laugh, it’s contagious.”

“Oh? At the library?” Leeteuk exclaimed. “Whoa, coincidence!”

Eunhyuk turned to his hyung. “Oh?”

“I like someone too,” Leeteuk explained at his dongsaeng’s curious look.

Eunhyuk’s face brightened. “You too?! Wah, hyung! _You_??” He shifted in his seat and moved closer to Leeteuk. For the few years that he had been with his hyung, he had never heard of the latter falling for someone before. Or maybe he was just oblivious. “Tell me about him! Who is he?” A mischievous glint shone in Eunhyuk’s eyes. “Is he here right now?”

Leeteuk chuckled. “Yah, don’t mind me. You were about to tell me who yours is.”

Eunhyuk rapidly shook his head. “No, no! You gotta tell me first, hyung! This one is big news!!” His wide grin showed a gummy smile. “Whoever knew that someone as serious and hardworking as you who only knows how to study and manage the student council have someone you’re falling for?!”

“Hey, it’s not a big deal,” Leeteuk tried to protest.

“It is to _me_!” Eunhyuk insisted, looking more and more excited by the minute. “Now tell me! C’mooon, hyung! I won’t tell anyone, I promise!”

Leeteuk seemed to hesitate. He definitely regretted the words that had spontaneously come out of his mouth. It was just that, he wanted to tell someone about what he was feeling, too. And it would be great if he and Eunhyuk confided in each other, for he knew that the latter was very trustworthy.

“Well, okay then…” Leeteuk’s gaze went somewhere behind Eunhyuk and he smiled softly, almost shyly.

Eunhyuk turned around to see who he was staring at and his heart froze.

“You… know Yesung, right?” Leeteuk’s soft voice drifted into his ears. “He’s… the one I like.”

And Eunhyuk’s whole world began to stop.


	10. E x t r a 0 1 .

_**"S**_ o, now that I've told you…" Leeteuk said slowly, still sounding a bit embarrassed. "Who's the one _you_ like, Eunhyuk-ah?"

But Eunhyuk wasn't listening. He kept on staring at Yesung, trying so hard not to let his expression crumble in front of anyone.

However, Leeteuk mistook his inattention for that of captivation. “Is the one you’re looking at the person you like?” Leeteuk said excitedly, immediately searching for the guy who Eunhyuk was currently preoccupied with.

Panic instantly raced in Eunhyuk’s chest. He didn’t want Leeteuk who he liked — at least, not _yet_. He didn’t want to make things awkward between them, even if it was just over a single guy. “N—No, hyung, you’ve got it wrong—”

“Oh?” Leeteuk suddenly said, sounding surprised and unsure. “You’re looking at them, too?”

Silence rose.

“H—Hyung,” Eunhyuk tried. “I—”

“Eunhyuk-ah…” Leeteuk said softly, carefully. “Is… the one you like…”

Eunhyuk panicked. “ _Yes_ , it’s him!” he burst out.

Leeteuk looked shocked at his friend’s sudden outburst. “Eunhyuk-ah—”

Without thinking, Eunhyuk pointed towards the direction where Yesung was at. “It’s _him_! I like him,” he said. “I like… K— _Kim Heechul-hyung_ …!”


	11. T e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_T_ ** **e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**Lunchtime, 12:45 PM**

* * *

**TWITTER**

* * *

**Leeteuk** @special070183

Well, that was unexpected.

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

someone pls choke me i am so screwed

* * *

 **Donghae** @donghae0101

Why aren't @special070183 and @dalnim86 answering my DMs and calls? -_-

> **@donghae0101** replied: Hellooooo? Guyssss. I can't find you. I think you left the cafeteria without me.

> **@donghae0101** replied: I'm sad ㅠㅠ

* * *

 **Ryeowook** @ryeonggu

is something happening?

> **@ryeonggu** replied: nvm, i'll find out later when we crash into teukie-hyung's place later tonight

> **@ryeonggu** replied: again. ㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

 **Kyuhyun** @gamekyu

Dunno what Eunhyuk's problem is, but I would like to volunteer to be the one to choke him.

> **@dalnim86** replied: come near me and i'll kill u

> **@dalnim86** replied: and call me hyung!!!

* * *

 **Yesung** @yesung1101

It's a nice afternoon to have coffee~

* _insert coffee pic here_ *

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

it's good to know that jongwoon's having a great fucking day among all the shitfest i'm seeing on my tl

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

* * *

**TWITTER**

_**2 new interactions** _

* * *

**Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

someone pls choke me i am so screwed

> **@yesung1101** replied: What's the matter, Hyuk-ah?

> **@yesung1101** replied: Did you lose at Starcraft again? ㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

_5 minutes later…_

* * *

**Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

someone pls choke me i am so screwed

> **@yesung1101** replied: What's the matter, Hyuk-ah?

> **@yesung1101** replied: Did you lose at Starcraft again? ㅋㅋㅋ

> **@dalnim86** replied: ㅋㅋㅋ it's because i saw hyung's ugly face today

> **@dalnim86** replied: hueh~~ hueh~~

* * *

_5 minutes later..._

User **@yesung1101** has blocked you from seeing their tweets.

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

why do i suck at expressing my feelings OTL


	12. E l e v e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_E_ ** **l e v e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_I_** t was going to be a bad day for Heechul. He didn't know why, but he could _feel_ it. Something was going to happen today, and he wasn't going to like it.

He had barely fended off Yesung's teasing questions earlier in the morning when the morning bell saved his hide. Leeteuk had walked past them, pretending that he didn't notice or hear anything, which relieved Heechul somewhat. He didn't know how much embarrassment he could take whenever it came to that guy. His life had been fine in the past when _he_ didn’t come into the equation.

And now Heechul was forced to tiptoe around Leeteuk just so they wouldn’t see each other’s faces again, which was for the best. He didn’t want to have _anything_ to do with him at the moment; if Leeteuk liked Yesung, then he wouldn’t do anything about it. Granted, he didn’t exactly know what Yesung’s type was, but Leeteuk seemed like a quiet, responsible guy, so maybe Yesung liked those kinds of traits in a person since they were both quite similar in those aspects.

Anyway, he didn't want to involve himself in other people's business. Yesung was his friend, but the guy was old enough to take care of his own issues.

When classes ended and lunch break rolled in, Heechul caught a glimpse of familiar brown hair and almost squeaked in surprise. Thankfully, Leeteuk didn't seem to notice him since he was walking ahead with his friends.

However, Yesung was staring at Heechul strangely.

"What is it?" he asked.

Heechul whirled his head towards his friend. "Huh?"

"You made an odd noise just now," Yesung pointed out.

"O—Oh, did I?" Heechul stammered slightly, sounding nervous as he ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"Heebong-ah, you've been acting odd today," Yesung remarked. "Is it perhaps about that guy who rejected you yesterday?"

"Aish, _Yesex_!" Heechul whined, using Yesung’s nickname out of frustration. "I _told_ you not to mention him!"

Yesung snickered. "Why're you so sensitive whenever I bring him up? You never cared about this kind of thing, much less get embarrassed about it."

Yesung had a point, but _still_! "You _know_ that it was my first time getting outright rejected by someone!" Heechul tried to explain, still flustered. "And by a _guy_ , no less! I didn't even ask him out and yet he blew me off as cold as ice!"

Yesung couldn't contain his laughter now; he found all of it amusing, especially the way Heechul's cheeks were tainted a pretty pink. He had never seen his best friend this way before, and it was quite entertaining, to say the least.

"So it hurt your ego, is that it?" Yesung said with a laugh.

Heechul pouted. "You make it sound like a bad thing! I was _so_ embarrassed, you know!"

"Well then, you shouldn't have confronted him in the first place without making sure of his feelings first," Yesung pointed out.

"I know, I know, I was too ahead of myself," Heechul wailed, regret blooming in his chest.

"Good that you know," Yesung said, nodding. "Now all that's left is to apologize to him."

Heechul, who had been walking cautiously towards the direction of the cafeteria, instantly stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend with wide, saucer-like eyes. "E— _Excuse me_?!"

Yesung raised an eyebrow, but his expression showed that he was clearly enjoying this. "What, you made a rude assumption about him and you're just going to let it be like that? Heebong-ah, you're better than this, aren't you?"

"B—B—But—"

"Eyy, what are you hesitating for?" Yesung nudged him playfully. "Don't think too deeply about it. It's called good manners. Unless…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "...you have feelings for him?"

"Yah, don't even joke about that!" Heechul exclaimed. "I don't see guys that way, and I don't wanna give false hope, either."

"All right, all right, I get it," Yesung said, chuckling. "I was just teasing you. Anyway, you still haven't told me _all_ about what happened yesterday!"

Heechul groaned. "Yah, Yesex… why would you torture me like this?”

“If you won’t tell me, then at least point out his face for me,” Yesung prodded.

They had already arrived at the cafeteria and there were crowds of people gathering and sitting at tables, some already lining up to buy food. Heechul and Yesung were near the middle of the room, walking aimlessly.

“In _here_?” Heechul said in slight disbelief.

Yesung rolled his eyes. “Where else?”

Heechul swallowed, then groaned once more. When Yesung was stubborn about something, there was no swaying him. It didn’t help that Heechul was always soft for his friend despite his prideful exterior.

Begrudgingly, his eyes scanned the room, searching for that damn brown hair that he had already memorized. When he finally spotted him, Heechul felt his heart skip a beat and clutched at his chest.

 _This traitorous heart_ , he scolded. _Why are you reacting like this?_

In his line of vision was Leeteuk and Eunhyuk, the latter Heechul knew by name and looks since they shared a few classes together. Heechul was also following him on Twitter.

The two of them were sitting at the same table, talking with smiles on their faces. It was practically just a normal, average sight to see, especially in school, but that wasn't what made Heechul react so unexpectedly.

It was the way Leeteuk's hair looked wind-blown and so fluffy, even when they were indoors. It was the manner he held himself, with quiet, respectable dignity and a manly aura. It was the way he smiled, the way his teeth gleamed in the lights and the way a dimple formed at the side.

That dimple. That _darn_ dimple. That _atrocity_ was the one that made his heart skip a beat. It was so unexpected, especially since Heechul had never seen Leeteuk smile that way before, and it suddenly made him blush at how he was slowly starting to notice Leeteuk a _lot_.

 _This is ridiculous,_ Heechul cried to himself. _I've only known him for barely a day and I'm already acting so conscious of him!!_

"Heebong-ah?" Yesung said, tapping his friend on the shoulder. "Yah, if he isn't here, then just forget it. I'm hungry."

Heechul nodded absently, but his gaze never left the two who were sitting on the table. As they walked towards an empty table and placed their bags, both of them went towards the direction of the cafeteria line.

"So I was thinking," Yesung began as he fished out his wallet from his jacket pocket, "what if we photocopy Kyuhyun-ssi's notes from calculus class?"

Heechul's face scrunched up in slight distaste. "You mean Cho Kyuhyun, that math genius?"

Yesung laughed. "Oh come on, are you still sore from that one time he beat you in Starcraft?"

"Hell no!" Heechul denied, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "That damn brat just tricked me by singing so suddenly while we were in the middle of a fight! I was winning, but he surprised me! It was an underhanded trick!"

"I still can't believe that you didn't know that he was a singer," Yesung said, still laughing as he rested his hand on Heechul's shoulder for support.

"Well, I thought he was just a nerd with no life!" Heechul defended. "That angelic voice couldn't have been from him… an evil incarnate wouldn't be able to sing that nicely."

"Yah, you're just being mean," Yesung scolded.

Heechul was about to bite back with a snappy retort when Yesung's phone suddenly rang and he had to take it, politely turning away from Heechul to answer the one who was on the receiving end.

It took a moment for Heechul to realize that they were standing close to Leeteuk's table.

It took _another_ moment for him to realize that Eunhyuk was suddenly pointing in his direction.

When they were just about _one meter_ away from each other.

"It's him!" Eunhyuk suddenly told Leeteuk, who had a look of utter surprise on his face. "I like him! I like… K— _Kim Heechul-hyung_!"

The last part was said a bit quietly so as to not drift into the other students' ears, but thankfully the others were busy going about their own business.

Unfortunately, Heechul heard it _all_.

And Eunhyuk now noticed that he was blatantly pointing at him when they were within earshot distance.

At this realization, Eunhyuk's face burned like a red tomato. Leeteuk looked like he was going to burst out of his seat to do something, _anything_.

Heechul was just gaping at them with an open jaw and wide eyes.

Yesung was still blissfully unaware, busily talking on the phone.

"W—Wait, w—wait a sec, h—hyung—" Eunhyuk stammered horribly.

But Heechul wasn't listening. He was too busy wailing in his mind.

_Why is it always me…!!_

* * *

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

* * *

_After lunch ended…_

_1:20 PM_

* * *

**TWITTER**

* * *

**Heechul** @kimheenim

I cannot believe that happened.

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

forget choking, someone just stab and kill me now


	13. E x t r a 0 2 .

**TWITTER**

_**3 new interactions** _

* * *

**@gamekyu** liked your tweet

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

forget choking, someone just stab and kill me now

> **@gamekyu** replied: my pleasure, hyung

> **@gamekyu** replied: my knife's ready, where r u

* * *

_1 minute later..._

* * *

User **@dalnim86** has blocked you from seeing their tweets.


	14. T w e l v e .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_T_ ** **w e l v e .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  
  
  


**_"H_** eebong-ah…" Yesung said almost tiredly as he folded his arms across his chest. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Aish, what are you still doing here, Yesex?!" Heechul wailed, wildly gesturing for his best friend to go away and leave him alone. "I'm kinda busy here, you know!"

"Busy… hiding behind a tree…?" Yesung enunciated flatly.

The school campus was filled with numerous students walking about, either going to their classes or just strolling leisurely while talking with friends. Some paused in their tracks to stare at Heechul's _very_ much obvious figure behind one of the thick trees near the Art Building, but soon shook their heads when they recognized him. It was… er… _quite_ well known in their university about how… _unique_ Heechul's personality was, so this was practically the norm for them.

" _Ssssh!!_ " Heechul whispered harshly, trying his best to make himself blend in with nature.

"That's not gonna work since you're dressed in bright pink clothes today," Yesung pointed out.

"I _told_ you to _shush_!"

"Just who are you hiding from, anyway?" Yesung said exasperatedly, looking around his surroundings to see who Heechul was sending frightened glances at. "...Oh? Isn't that Eunhy — _MMPH_?!"

"Yah!" Heechul scolded, planting a hand on Yesung's mouth to shut him up. "He'll hear you!!"

"Whshthbgdil??" Yesung's annoyed, muffled voice still spoke. ( _"What is the big deal??"_ )

"Don't come near him!" Heechul warned, somehow understanding Yesung's gibberish. "He's weird…!"

Yesung promptly swatted Heechul's hand away using his strength. "What did he do to you?" he asked. "Eunhyuk isn't weird. He's annoying, but he's a nice guy."

"He’s up to something,” Heechul said patronizingly, his gaze full of suspicion. “There’s _no_ way that little anchovy has a crush on me. He’s _definitely_ up to something!! And it’s _not_ good!”

Heechul was so engrossed in his mini-rant that he didn’t notice the way Yesung’s eyes grew wide.

“...Eunhyuk said he has a crush on you?” he repeated, seeming in disbelief.

“Yes, but it’s nonsense anyway,” Heechul said dismissively. “I may be a narcissistic dumbnut sometimes, but I can tell when a person doesn’t have any interest in me at all.” _Like Leeteuk_. “Eunhyuk is one of those people.”

Yesung frowned. “If you’re so sure, then why would he say that he likes you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to know!” Heechul said exasperatedly, already on the verge of pulling his hair out. “He told it to Leete—” He suddenly stopped in his tracks, realizing that Yesung didn’t know who Leeteuk was.

“He told it to who?”

“Nothing,” Heechul said quickly. “I was just… talking to myself.”

“Hyung…” Yesung began, his voice turning flat.

Heechul gulped. Yesung calling him ‘hyung’ instead of Heebong meant that his friend wasn’t going to take any of his jokes at the moment.

“G—Gotta go, Yesung-ah!” Heechul said quickly as he sprang to his feet. “I have class in a few minutes. See ya!”

“Hee — _Heechul-hyung_!” Yesung called out in disbelief as Heechul rapidly disappeared around the corner like a squirrel. “Aish, he’s so good at running away…”

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_F_** or the first time, Leeteuk sat down in the library and thought about Heechul. Not Yesung, surprisingly, but _Heechul_. He remembered his name now, especially after the shocking announcement Eunhyuk made during lunch.

He hadn’t thought about Heechul twice since his rude encounter with him that day, but now the revelation was starting to dawn upon him. He had told Heechul that he wasn’t interested in him, but in his _friend_. Who _else_ did Heechul hang out with the most? As far as Leeteuk knew, it was Yesung.

If he were being honest with himself, if he really wanted to get to know Yesung better, he could’ve tried following the man on Twitter. Eunhyuk and the others were following him — and he found out too late that a few were also following Heechul — but for some reason, Leeteuk couldn’t pick up the courage to follow Yesung at all. Yesung was also a private account, so Leeteuk couldn’t risk following him first and Yesung knowing his name without them even meeting and talking in person even once.

He disliked it, but now that Heechul was brought into the equation… things were starting to get complicated.

He didn’t have a very good first impression of Heechul. The man had been too arrogant, too assuming of things. Although Leeteuk had a slip of the tongue due to his annoyance, he didn’t even consider the possibility of Heechul leaking his secret to Yesung. After all, they were best friends, right? He and Heechul were like strangers, so the latter could clearly do with the information however he wanted.

And the fact that Eunhyuk liked that man… it was stirring a conflict inside Leeteuk’s head. He wanted to support his dongsaeng, but Heechul just didn’t seem good enough for Eunhyuk. At least, from what Leeteuk had witnessed from him so far.

What was worse was that Heechul heard Eunhyuk’s confession. Now the poor guy was silent the entire day, even going so far as to avoid Leeteuk as he mumbled excuses about having to study for a test.

It wasn’t Eunhyuk’s fault and it wasn’t his fault, either, but Leeteuk just felt responsible for what had happened. If only he hadn’t pressed Eunhyuk about his feelings, then this embarrassment wouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

 _Ahhh, this is driving me crazy!_ Leeteuk thought to himself, ruffling his hair with his hands in frustration. _What should I do…?_

Standing up from his seat, he decided to clear his head by taking a walk along the school grounds. Whenever he was conflicted or stressed about something, some fresh air always helped.

However, when he reached the corner of the library leading to the exit, he suddenly bumped into someone.

“Ah, I’m sorry—” Leeteuk began.

“Sorry about that—” the other person said at the same time.

When Leeteuk raised his head, his whole body stiffened.

Heechul stared back at him, jaw agape.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...” Heechul swallowed, then picked up the book that had fallen from Leeteuk’s hands. He offered it back to the latter with trembling fingers.

Damn. He was so nervous. He never felt like this before. It was like he was back in grade school and forced to make a speech in front of an entire auditorium, alone!

“Uh… h—hey…” Heechul said hesitantly, his voice cracking a bit as he looked everywhere but at Leeteuk’s piercing gaze. “Can we… um… talk?”


	15. T h i r t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_T_ ** **h i r t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_W_** as it because of the cool autumn breeze? Or was it because of the trees surrounding them that provided them with the shade they needed from the sun’s rays? Because Heechul suddenly felt cold all over and his hands were getting clammy with sweat.

 _This is ridiculous…_ he wailed internally. _It feels like I’m going to make a confession!_

Leeteuk was following slowly behind him, his pace cautious as he kept on eyeing Heechul with something akin to mistrust on his face. Heechul couldn’t blame him for being wary, guarded, and suspicious; their first meeting hadn’t exactly been like rainbows and flowers. Yesung was right; he _really_ needed to apologize to this man. He had been too full of himself and jumped to conclusions before analyzing the situation well. Saying sorry was the right thing to do.

Bracing himself, Heechul stopped in his tracks and turned around, his lips parted as he began to speak his apology.

However, to his utter surprise, Leeteuk spoke first.

“Look, if this is about Eunhyuk…” he began.

When Eunhyuk’s name was brought up, Heechul couldn’t control himself. His mouth really was like an automatic motor with no brakes once it set off.

“That brat? _Hah!_ I didn’t believe him even for a second!” Heechul laughed, still in disbelief over what happened earlier. “The two of us have been casual drinking buddies for a while and we may not be close but—”

“Excuse me, aren’t you being too rude?” Leeteuk interrupted, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Heechul blinked. “Huh?”

“Are you looking down on Eunhyuk’s feelings just like how you looked down on mine?” Leeteuk continued on, his arms folded across his chest as he reigned in his anger. “You should take him seriously, especially if he’s being sincere. Isn’t that what politeness is all about?”

Leeteuk’s words were biting, but his voice was calm, soft, and it was drilling right into Heechul’s head like a hammer.

Dizzy at this unexpected attack, Heechul managed to respond, “N—No, wait, that’s not what I—” He cut himself off at that moment, exhaling a breath to keep himself calm. “Look, hear me out…”

Leeteuk still looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway. “I’m listening,” he said stonily.

“Okay. The thing is… I need to tell you that—”

At that moment, the school bell went off quite loudly, the vibrations ringing in their ears. Heechul stiffened while Leeteuk bit his lip.

“Such bad timing…!” Heechul cursed under his breath.

“...” Leeteuk took a deep breath. “I have classes, so I’ll go first,” he said stiffly, turning his back and beginning to walk away. “We can talk again sometime.”

“Huh?! W—Wait!” A rush of panic filled Heechul’s chest as he hastily clamped a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder, causing the latter to whirl his head towards him with wide eyes. “I—I’m… so…!”

 _Damn it._ He couldn’t say it. He had _never_ said it before in his entire lifetime!

...Well, excluding that _one_ time when he accidentally spilled coffee all over Yesung’s research papers. Who could blame him, though? His friend was _scary_ when he was angry.

“...So…?” Leeteuk inquired when Heechul seemed to have difficulty saying the word.

Heechul shut his eyes. “I’m sor… so…” His throat went dry and he frantically tried to swallow to relieve the discomfort.

Leeteuk was starting to lose his patience bit by bit. If Heechul kept on stalling him for this, he was going to be late for his class. “Heechul-ssi, if you don’t have anything to say—”

“ _I’m…!_ ” Heechul suddenly yelled, startling Leeteuk out of his wits. “I’m…! I’m… so… so _beautiful!!_ ”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...Okay…?”

* * *

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

* * *

**TWITTER**

* * *

**Heechul** @kimheenim

DAMN IT! THAT DIDN’T GO WELL AT ALL. T_T

* * *

 **Leeteuk** @special070183

…

* * *

 **Leeteuk** @special070183

For a moment there, I thought he was going to say sorry.

* * *

 **Leeteuk** @special070183

But he just suddenly praised himself in front of me…?

* * *

 **Leeteuk** @special070183

I have _too_ much faith in humans sometimes.


	16. F o u r t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_F_ ** **o u r t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_E_** unhyuk covered his face with Leeteuk's pillow in the bedroom, not wanting to answer any of the others’ questions at the moment. He could still feel the pure embarrassment from earlier, Heechul's shocked, agape expression making him want to crawl into a hole and hide. What if Heechul told everything he heard to Yesung? What would Yesung think of him then? There weren't many people who liked same-gender relationships in their university after all, and what if Yesung was going to be one of those people who’d stay away from him once they found out about his bisexuality? If that happened, if that _really_ happened, then it would hurt him so much.

It was one of the reasons why Eunhyuk was afraid to express his feelings. There was no telling how Yesung would react, given how unpredictable the man could be sometimes. However, Yesung seemed to have taken a liking to him, treating him as if he were his own younger brother, so he would probably be more sensitive to Eunhyuk's feelings towards him… _probably_.

Eunhyuk wanted to scream into his pillow. This was all driving him _crazy_. Not to mention that there had been a huge misunderstanding, too! He wasn't exactly worried about what Heechul would think — because honestly, the two of them were just acquaintances and Eunhyuk didn't really care that much — but he was concerned about the possibility of Heechul blabbing things to Yesung.

And he could not possibly tell the truth to Leeteuk, either. He didn't want to ruin his hyung's happiness; he had seen the way Leeteuk's face brightened when he snuck glances at Yesung and the shy way he talked about the latter. Eunhyuk just couldn't bring himself to get in between the two of them.

Eunhyuk could just find another one to like — be it a girl or a boy — but Leeteuk always found it difficult to like someone again. His hyung seemed to be the serious type whenever it came to love, especially when he once mentioned that he preferred long-term relationships.

Eunhyuk didn't know what to do now. Should he really pretend to like Heechul? The thought of it was enough to send chills down his spine. The older guy was _insanely_ popular, especially because of his pretty boy appearance, _and_ he was also straight. Eunhyuk hated to have to pretend, so maybe he should inform Heechul the truth just to prevent the misunderstanding from growing bigger…

But would Heechul even believe him? They weren't even that close to each other…

"Aish…" Eunhyuk groaned.

"Yah, you should tell us what happened, anchovy," Ryeowook pressed, making himself comfortable on the mattress he placed on Leeteuk's floor. "Those tweets were suspicious…"

"If you don't wanna talk about it," Kyuhyun began casually, "my offer to stab and kill you still stands."

" _Kyuhyun_ ," Leeteuk said in a warning tone.

Kyuhyun raised his hands innocently. "What? _He_ was the one who suggested it in the first place. I was just being a good friend so I accepted his request."

Leeteuk groaned. "You _do_ know that he wasn't being serious, right?"

"How should _I_ know?" Kyuhyun said boredly. "I can't read a person's tone from their tweets."

Leeteuk groaned again.

Meanwhile, a forgotten Donghae was sulking in the corner, glaring at them. "You guys just left me without saying a word…" he muttered. "You never even replied to my tweets and DMs… yet Hyukkie even managed to reply to Kyu and Yesung-hyung…"

"Ah," Eunhyuk said, raising his head from the pillow to look at his best friend. "Right. Sorry about that, Donghae." He then went back to muffling his groans against the pillow.

Donghae was staring at him in disbelief. "Gee, thanks, Hyukkie," he said sarcastically. "I can _definitely_ feel your sincerity…"

Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were watching the scene before them, laughing cruelly. Leeteuk glared at them in response. They were _so_ not helping the situation here.

"Uhh…" Leeteuk began, moving closer to Donghae. "Donghae-ya… I'm sorry we forgot about you…”

Donghae turned to his hyung with a look of betrayal on his face. “Teukie-hyung! _You_ weren’t replying to me, too!” he accused.

“Er… I’m sorry…” Leeteuk tried. “Let hyung make it up to you then. Would you like me to help tutor you for your rescheduled quiz?”

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**TWITTER**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**Donghae** @donghae0101

Apology accepted! :D

> **@gamekyu** replied: Tsk, tsk, tsk… how shallow.

> **@gamekyu** replied: Boriiiing

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

yesung-hyung blocked me OTL but at least the good news is that i finally blocked that annoying kyuhyun >:)

> **@ryeonggu** replied: what is this childish fight you two are having now

> **@ryeonggu** replied: it’s freaking 1AM already

* * *

 **Kyuhyun** @gamekyu

I can freely insult Eunhyuk-hyung here now that he has blocked me and can’t see my tweets. Kyu wins! >:D

* * *

 **Kyuhyun** @gamekyu

Fact #1: Eunhyuk-hyung’s feet are smelly. Never let him take off his socks or else… we will all die.

> **@special070183** replied: KYUHYUN YOU ASS I WILL KILL YOUJNSDGJASDBFUA

> **@special070183** replied: HOW DARE YOU LOCK URSEFL IN TEH BATHROOM U PIECE OF

* * *

 **Ryeowook** @ryeonggu

regarding these two elementary schoolers’ fight in the latest tweet of @gamekyu, i’ll explain because i’m such a good dongsaeng :)

> **@ryeonggu** replied: eunhyuk-hyung stole teukie-hyung’s phone while hyung is sleeping

> **@ryeonggu** replied: eunhyuk-hyung is banging on the bathroom door now

> **@ryeonggu** replied: their noises woke donghae-hyung and teukie-hyung

> **@ryeonggu** replied: donghae-hyung looks sleepy while teukie-hyung looks like he desperately wants to curse

* * *

 **Donghae** @donghae0101

@gamekyu @ryeonggu @special070183 PLEASE GO TO SLEEP ALREADY

> **@dalnim86** replied: Why are you blaming me, Eunhyuk stole my phone;;;

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

why am i even following these idiots ugh

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

YAH YOU BRATS! @dalnim86 @gamekyu STOP CLOGGING MY TL AT 2AM!!

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

you too @ryeonggu!!!!

> **@ryeonggu** replied: who’re you?

> **@ryeonggu** replied: i don’t talk to strangers ¯\\_ (ツ)_/¯

> **@kimheenim** replied: Then why did you reply??? -_-

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

this brat still has a grudge on me after i told him a long time ago that his voice sounds like a girl -_-

> **@ryeonggu** replied: for your information, that happened two weeks ago.

> **@ryeonggu** replied: get your facts straight, tsk tsk.

> **@gamekyu** replied: Why are you two even still following each other -_-

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_H_** eechul groaned and turned off the screen of his phone. Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were starting to get on his nerves already, not to mention that Eunhyuk was also fooling around with them, giving him a mild headache in the process. Did they really have to fight on social media? Such kids…

He laid spread-eagle on his bed, closing his eyes as his thoughts slowly took over his mind. His bedroom window was open, the curtain swishing along with the cool night air. He couldn’t sleep; he had classes in the morning, but that was the last thing on his mind.

_I messed up…_

Suddenly having the urge to talk to someone, he turned on his phone and went straight to his messaging app.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**iMessage**

**࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇**

**You**

Yesung-ah… I think I ruined things… T_T

**Kim Jongwoon**

What??

What happened this time??

**You**

I couldn’t apologize to him…

**Kim Jongwoon**

Geez… is it really that hard to say sorry?

Alright, let me help you out then.

I’ll

**You**

NO!!!!

I mean

No, you don’t have to!

I can handle this myself

I just wanted to vent T_T

**Kim Jongwoon**

If you said something stupid to him

Which, by the way, is just typical of you…

**You**

HEY!!

**Kim Jongwoon**

Then make up for it by saying sorry THIS TIME.

Got it?

**You**

Yessir… T_T

**Kim Jongwoon**

XDDDD

**You**

...What?

**Kim Jongwoon**

It’s just that

This isn’t like you, you know

**You**

Yah!! Are you insulting me??

**Kim Jongwoon**

No, no ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I meant

You being flustered like this is a nice change

You’re always so confident and casual whenever it comes to anything similar to romance

But with this guy, you suddenly become so shy and panicked ㅋㅋㅋ

Like a schoolgirl

**You**

WHAT???!

YAH!! KIM JONGWOON!!

**Kim Jongwoon**

Curse at me all you want ¯\\_ (ツ)_/¯

It’s the truth, anyway

You should introduce him to me sometime when you guys get together

**You**

Shut up T__T Stop teasing me…

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_H_** eechul groaned loudly. He should’ve known that it was useless trying to gain sympathy from his friend.

 _This is driving me crazy!_ Heechul thought to himself as he tossed and turned in his bed. _Why did I have to say that — damn it! Now I really do have to go apologize to him. My mind can’t rest if I don’t resolve this misunderstanding between us right away!_

_But how??_

Heechul sat up straight in an instant, various thoughts crossing his mind as he pondered over a plan to show Leeteuk that he wasn’t actually a weird narcissist but a fun, love-myself type of guy.

 _Great…_ Heechul groaned. _I don’t make an effort for my own girlfriends and yet here I am going nuts over a mere misunderstanding with a guy I don’t even know..._

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

_You’re always so confident and casual whenever it comes to anything similar to romance_

_But with this guy, you suddenly become so shy and panicked ㅋㅋㅋ_

_Like a schoolgirl_

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

Heechul sighed loudly as the memory of Yesung’s chats came to his head. He resisted the urge to throw away his phone — and maybe even his life along with it.

“Stupid Yesex thinks I have a crush… how _absurd_!” he muttered to himself as he buried his face in his pillow, trying one last time to make himself drift off to sleep.


	17. F i f t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_F_ ** **i f t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_H_** eechul was the kind of person who didn’t let his emotions control him inside. Whenever he felt stressed or frustrated, he would always vent it out of his system. Whenever he was in a tense situation, he’d find ways to solve it since he hated feeling guilty. He was the type to tell others what he felt straight away without filter, because that was how honest he was with himself.

 _Then why,_ Heechul wailed to himself as he covered his face with the textbook he was holding, _am I doing this kind of stupid thing right now?!_

It was currently Tuesday morning, free period, with the sunlight gleaming from the closed glass windows. The temperature of the library was quite cool due to the air-conditioning, but Heechul could only feel the sweat pouring from his backside as he tried so hard not to let his face show to a certain person who was clearly looking at him from one table away—

Suddenly the book he was using as a cover was snatched away like the wind. “Yah, what are you doing with my textbook?” Yesung exclaimed in disbelief. “I need it to solve these equations…”

“Aish, _yah!!!_ ” Heechul whispered to his friend harshly as he resorted to hiding his face by pressing it against Yesung’s shoulder.

Yesung’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets in shock. “Hey, what is _wrong_ with you?” he asked his friend, the surprise evident in his voice. “Wait, your forehead is too heavy, it’s piercing into my skin — _yah!!!_ Why did you suddenly _bite_ me—”

“Uhm…”

The two of them whipped their heads towards the source of the voice, their eyes wide as if they were caught in the act of doing something sneaky.

 _Oh my god…!_ Heechul thought to himself as his jaw dropped open in shock.

There, standing before them, was Leeteuk, his brown hair neatly swept across his forehead and his lips curved into a sweet smile.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he said.

Heechul stiffened. Yesung, on the other hand, smiled back at the newcomer, gesturing towards his friend.

“Ah, you want to talk to Heebo — I mean, Heechul-hyung?” Yesung clarified with a warm voice.

Leeteuk grinned, this time with his teeth showing. “Yeah. Is it okay? I want to talk to him about the project we’re both doing,” he added convincingly.

“Ohh,” Yesung said, nodding in understanding. He turned to look at his friend, frowning when Heechul couldn’t even make direct eye-contact with the guy.

“Psst. Heebong. _Heebongie!_ ” Yesung whispered into his friend’s ear, making sure that the newcomer couldn’t hear. “He says he wants to talk to you. What are you still sitting here for?”

Heechul seemed to snap out of his trance and stood up instantly, causing Yesung to almost fall out of his chair due to the sudden action. At that instant, Leeteuk instinctively grabbed the latter’s wrist, preventing him from falling over.

“Ah, thanks,” Yesung said gratefully, shooting Heechul a venomous glare. Really, what was _wrong_ with him today?

Heechul looked at him guiltily for one moment before proceeding to look Leeteuk in the eyes. “Okay, let’s talk,” he said quietly.

Leeteuk stared at him, then slowly loosened his grip on Yesung’s wrist. He glanced at the latter with another smile.

“We’ll be quick,” he said.

“Ah, it’s fine,” Yesung said, waving them off dismissively. “Both of you take your time.”

As the two of them walked out of the library, Yesung stared at them as he propped his elbow on the table, resting his cheek against his palm.

_Hmm…_

A sly smile curved his lips.

_So I guess that’s the guy he’s been talking about lately?_

_I should totally help him out._ Yesung let out a mischievous chuckle. _The guy’s cute._

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_H_** eechul nervously rubbed his foot against the ground, watching as Leeteuk glanced behind them to see if there might be anyone listening in on their conversation. When there was none, he turned to Heechul with a serious expression on his face.

“Okay, look,” Leeteuk said, exhaling a deep breath. It was obvious that he’d been preparing for this moment. “I know we both don’t like each other and that we’re strangers despite having mutual friends, so I’ll make this quick.” Leeteuk’s gaze seemed piercing now. “Did you… tell Yesung about me?”

Heechul’s breath caught up in his throat. “Uh, no,” he responded meekly. “I haven’t—”

“That day, when he greeted you near the school gates and I was there across you both,” Leeteuk interrupted, “was I the guy he was talking about?”

“H—Huh?” Heechul was certain that he was starting to look like a complete idiot now. It was all too sudden for him; his body was slowly going into panic mode as he fervently tried to recall what Leeteuk was talking about.

And then it hit him.

_"So tell me all about what happened yesterday! Was he cute? How did he reject you? Have you actually secretly liked him all this time??"_

Heechul wanted to slap himself. Actually, he wanted to go back to Yesung, drag him outside, and drown him in the nearby swimming pool, killing him slowly, but that could wait for later.

Right now, he was in a huge dilemma.

 _What am I going to do…??_ _!_ Heechul was going out of his mind and he was beginning to grow dizzy. _Someone please take me away from this damn guy…!!_

He had been so stressed these days, and it was _all_ because of Leeteuk! 

“Well?” Leeteuk said almost impatiently, completely unaware of the chaos that was going on inside Heechul’s head. “Did you or did you tell him? Honestly, when I told you back then that I liked Yesung, not you, I didn’t expect you to be the type to tattle about that kind of thing. Yeah, of course, I was nervous too, but what’s done is done. I only had faith that you wouldn’t tell as long as we both go back to living our own lives as if nothing ever happened.”

Leeteuk was rambling now. He knew it, but it was hard to stop once his mouth began rolling out the words inside his head. Strangely, although he didn’t like Heechul’s arrogant personality, he felt comfortable spilling his angry thoughts to the man. It was as if he could confide in him without worries. But that was ridiculous, right? Besides, Heechul seemed like the type to indulge in meaningless gossip and spread them around with his loud mouth. There was no reason for him to trust this man with _anything_ at all.

And that thought was only making him angrier.

“And yesterday, _god_.” Leeteuk pressed his fingers against his temple, sighing deeply. “If you’re so blinded by your own beauty, you could’ve just said it while looking in the mirror. Why did you have to call me out and make it seem as if you were going to apologize when all you wanted was to gloat about your appearance in front of me? Is it because I’m _ugly_ compared to you and you wanted to flaunt about it?” Leeteuk pressed, annoyed.

“No, _no_!” Heechul said, horrified that things were starting to spiral out of control again.

Leeteuk sighed again, looking at Heechul in the eyes. “Then what is it? I’m trying to be calm and understanding here,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t want this… this _issue_ between us to stay even if we’re not that close to each other. If there’s been a misunderstanding here, then tell me.”

Heechul could only stare at him, frozen stiff as he frantically tried to think of the right words to say. He didn’t want to offend Leeteuk again, so he needed to be very careful this time.

_What do I do… Wh—What do I say?_

_Where should I start??_

At that moment, Leeteuk glanced at his watch and frowned. “Well? Classes are going to start in fifteen minutes now.”

When Heechul still couldn’t respond, Leeteuk pressed his lips into a thin line.

“Heechul-ssi, tell me the truth so I can understand,” he said softly, figuring that his aggressive tone could’ve been the reason why the man seemed scared stiff of him. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, so I need to hear it from your own mouth, okay?”

His softer approach seemed to work; Heechul’s gaze rose to his face and the worry in his expression was starting to fade.

“I…” Heechul began, then cleared his throat, trying again. “Yeah, I did tell Yesung… b—but only about what happened between us. I didn’t tell him anything about your feelings for him!” Heechul relaxed considerably as soon as the words came out of his lips. “He doesn’t even know who you are. And about Eunhyuk… I didn’t mean it that way,” he added quietly.

Leeteuk was silent, but he nodded his head to show that he was still listening.

“Eunhyuk and I are like casual buddies, hanging out every now and then. I just don’t believe that he likes me that way. We don’t even speak to each other that much, and when we do, we’re mostly playing around and taunting each other. Also, I’m straight, and he knows that, too,” Heechul finished quietly, looking up to see Leeteuk’s reaction.

The anxiety in him suddenly disappeared the moment he saw a smile playing on Leeteuk’s lips. He could even see a faint outline of the man’s dimple on his cheek.

His heart pounded even faster when a brief chuckle emerged from Leeteuk’s mouth.

“So you actually have this innocent side to you?” Leeteuk said, unable to contain his smile. He covered it with his hand politely so as to not offend Heechul. “How unexpected.”

Heechul had no idea what he was saying. “What…?”

Leeteuk removed his hand from his mouth and smiled, his dimple now fully forming. “It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or if you’re straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re close friends or just acquaintances. Love doesn’t know any boundaries; when you fall for someone, it’s out of your control,” he said warmly. “Just because you can’t see it or you refuse to see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. So, give Eunhyuk the benefit of the doubt, OK?”

At that moment, the bell rang, signalling the end of the hour. Leeteuk adjusted the sling of his bag around his shoulder and extended a hand towards Heechul.

“Anyway, I’m glad we finally cleared up our misunderstanding. I’m really sorry for getting you wrong,” Leeteuk said politely, offering a friendly handshake. “Are we cool now?”

Speechless, Heechul robotically took his hand and shook it slowly. Leeteuk smiled at him before turning around slightly.

“I have class, so I’ll go first. I’ll see you around sometime.”

_Wait…_

_Wait…!_

Heechul tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat as he helplessly watched Leeteuk’s retreating back.

_I…_

_I haven’t even said sorry to him yet…_

Heechul clenched his hand into a fist as he tried to make sense of the unknown feelings that were bubbling inside him.

_Funny, I should feel relaxed now that we heard each other’s sides…_

_But why do I feel so uneasy…?_

He clutched the material of his shirt, gulping as he felt his heart hammering in his chest.

_And why does this always happen whenever I’m with him?_

_Fuck..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .｡.:*☆ Hi! I just want to say thank you to everyone who's still reading this fic. Thank you for bearing with all the chaos in here, haha! (tbhidon'tevenknowwhati'mdoingi'msosorryT_T)


	18. S i x t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_S_ ** **i x t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_“._**..”

“...”

“...How did this happen again?”

Eunhyuk shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his gaze anywhere but at the man sitting beside him. He understood perfectly well why he was being blatantly ignored, but as always, his big, insensitive mouth couldn’t stop talking just for once.

“Um… it’s kinda hot today, right?” Eunhyuk said quite timidly, fanning himself slightly with his hand.

“...” Yesung still didn’t say anything, only opting to read the instructions and problems on the slip of paper their professor provided them with. It was just their luck that they had a seatwork assigned for today in which the two of them were coincidentally and randomly paired together.

And the whole time, Yesung never spoke a word to Eunhyuk. The younger was about to go crazy from the silence.

“Erm… Yesung-hyung?” he tried, again, to initiate a conversation. However, all he got was radio silence save for the quiet mutterings of their classmates in the surroundings while they worked on their own papers.

Eunhyuk was about to give up and focus on the pairwork when Yesung suddenly broke the awkward silence between them.

“...Why are you always like that to me?” Yesung said quietly, his gaze still focused on their paper.

Eunhyuk blinked. “U—Uh…?”

“Even when I’m not doing anything to you, you keep insulting me and then laugh off the things you said. Does it make your heart feel good?”

Eunhyuk sputtered at the sudden attack. Yesung must have felt really hurt by his words for him to be acting like this. “H—Hyung,” Eunhyuk said pleadingly, willing Yesung to look him in the eyes. “I—I’m—”

Suddenly Yesung turned to him and tapped him on the nose, startling the younger and causing him to jolt in his seat. “ _Boo!_ ” Yesung said with a grin.

Eunhyuk’s eyes went wide. What was _happening?_ “Hyung??” he managed, confused.

Yesung laughed, his deep voice sounding like music to Eunhyuk’s ears. “Yah, you should see the look on your face~” Yesung teased, swinging an arm around the younger’s shoulders and pulling him closer. “You looked so apologetic, _hahaha_!”

“???!!”

“Idiot~” Yesung said affectionately, bumping his nose with Eunhyuk’s own, causing the latter to squeak in surprise. “I was just messing with you. Call it my sweet revenge~” He laughed again, and this time the amusement in his tone made Eunhyuk pout.

“Aish, hyung… you really got me there…” Eunhyuk lamented.

Yesung smiled, ruffling the younger’s hair affectionately. “You’re my cute little dongsaeng~ I know you didn’t mean any harm. Hyung understands.”

 _Especially when you have a drama queen like Kim Heechul as a friend,_ Yesung mused to himself, chuckling.

Relieved that their friendship was back to normal, both of them talked vigorously, helping each other out with problems that the other had no idea about. Eunhyuk loved the contentment he felt at this moment; everything felt so right whenever he was with Yesung. He couldn’t explain it yet, but Yesung was starting to become a part of his life that he couldn’t bear to lose.

If they never work out in the end, Eunhyuk would still fight for their friendship at the very least. That was how important he felt Yesung was to him even though he never said that even once. Yesung must have thought that Eunhyuk only considered him like a casual buddy whom he had a few classes with, but Eunhyuk thought more of him than that. He just couldn’t express it well, and that was what he often wanted to fix in himself.

“S—So… when are you gonna unblock me from Twitter, hyung…?” Eunhyuk asked hopefully after they finally finished all the problems.

Yesung pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. “Mmm, I will…”

Eunhyuk’s lips began to curve into a happy grin.

“... _if_ you tell me _all_ about why you announced that you like Kim Heechul during lunch one week ago,” Yesung finished with an evil smile on his lips.

Eunhyuk’s smile instantly dropped from his face.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_L_** eeteuk twirled his pen in his fingers, recalling the moment in the library yesterday. He had been resolute in his decision to confront Heechul about his rude attitude, so his head was only occupied with thoughts about how the confrontation should go as well as the words he was going to say. He didn’t even spare more than a few glances at Yesung that day, still focused on staring at Heechul, trying to figure him out. The man even had the audacity to cover his face with a textbook — how old was he, again?

Leeteuk also recalled the moment he grasped Yesung’s wrist to prevent the younger man from falling back against his wobbling seat. It had been the first time they touched, but he hadn’t even thought a lot about it at that time.

 _Kim Heechul,_ Leeteuk thought to himself as he kept on twirling his pencil. _Such a weird guy._

When the class finally ended, Leeteuk gathered his things and placed them inside his bag. Sighing, he remembered that he promised to meet Kyuhyun and Ryeowook later under the big willow tree on campus. Kyuhyun wanted to go eat at the new tteokbokki restaurant that just opened nearby while Ryeowook just decided to tag along, always the easygoing one as long as it involved food.

Leeteuk chuckled to himself as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Those two acted like siblings most of the time, and that was saying something since Ryeowook was the only child in his family. He was happy that both of them trusted and relied on him a lot; those two had some struggles of their own, but they always managed to be cheerful and savage all the time.

The three of them were planning to hang out, but Eunhyuk and Donghae weren’t going with them this time. Eunhyuk had dance practice and was preparing himself for a major role in the upcoming school festival. Donghae, on the other hand, had dance practice along with him but he also had plans for dinner later with his family. Leeteuk was actually supposed to commence the planning for the festival on the student council but Siwon had texted him that the meeting was cancelled.

“Hyung!”

Kyuhyun’s familiar voice drifted into Leeteuk’s ears and he smiled at the younger who was waving at him from one of the benches. Ryeowook was sitting next to him, busy writing something in his notebook. When Leeteuk approached him curiously, he saw that Ryeowook was composing something and he let out an awed whistle.

“Hyung, you did composing in the past, right?” Kyuhyun said.

At Kyuhyun’s unexpected inquiry, Leeteuk stiffened.

“Ah, yeah,” Leeteuk answered hesitantly. “Why?”

“Ryeowook’s kind of stuck on the perfect melody for the bridge part,” Kyuhyun explained, pointing at a series of unfinished notes on the page Ryeowook was writing on.

Ryeowook raised his head to look at Leeteuk hopefully. “You’ll help me, hyung?” he asked.

A lump formed in Leeteuk’s throat at the imploring look in Ryeowook’s eyes. “Well, I’ll be glad to…” he began slowly. “But I don’t know if my help is really needed since—”

At that moment, Kyuhyun seemed to notice something behind Leeteuk. Standing up from his seat, he waved at them, beckoning them over with his hand.

Confused, Leeteuk turned around to see who Kyuhyun was gesturing at.

And his eyes widened.

“By the way, hyung,” Kyuhyun said casually, “I ran into them earlier and asked them if they wanted to join us. Turns out that we’re all heading to the same place!” He came up to Leeteuk’s side and wrapped his hands around Leeteuk’s arm adorably. “You don’t mind, right?”

Leeteuk was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yeah, it’s fine…”

In front of him, heading their way, was a mischievous-looking Yesung dragging along a horrified-looking Heechul.

Leeteuk groaned. _Great… just what I need..._


	19. E x t r a 0 3 .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_E_ ** **x t r a 0 3 .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


_One hour before Eunhyuk and Yesung’s shared class..._

**_W_** hen Eunhyuk was striding towards the direction of the main building, he stopped in his tracks when he spotted a familiar figure coming his way. Panic filled his chest and he slowly, _very_ slowly, retreated to hide back in that corner and possibly escape—

“Oh? Ah, it’s Eunhyuk!”

 _Damn it._ This was _not_ going to be his day _at all!_

Heechul’s obnoxious laugh resounded in the hallway as he walked over towards the younger. “Yah, were you actually planning on escaping from me?” he teased with a wide grin. “Too bad for you. Nobody walks out from Kim Heechul like that!”

Eunhyuk swallowed, the nervousness creeping up on his throat. Now that he was finally in this kind of situation, it was time to clear up some issues that needed to be discussed.

“Hyung, a—about that time when we were at the cafeteria—” Eunhyuk began nervously, hanging his head as he played with his fingers.

Heechul waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I already know about it.”

Startled, Eunhyuk raised his head to stare at him. “What?” Hope was starting to fill his chest. “Really?”

Heechul smirked. “Yeah, really.”

Relieved that the misunderstanding was resolved, Eunhyuk exhaled deeply, placing his palm against his chest. “Thank goodness, hyung—”

“Just let me tell you this, though,” Heechul said, flipping his hair and winking at him. “I’m not easy to get.”

Eunhyuk’s mind went blank as he stared at his hyung. “...Huh?”

“If you can get me to like men, then you have a chance,” Heechul said, shrugging. “Unfortunately, I still like girls, so…”

“Huh????!!!”

Heechul laughed loudly and turned around to walk away, leaving behind a flustered, blushing Eunhyuk.

_Wait a minute, does that mean… he thinks I really do like him??!!_

_NOOOOOOOOO!!!_

* * *

**TWITTER**

* * *

**Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

what is this mess i’ve gotten myself into (ಥ◡ಥ)

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

………………..

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

that hyung is so annoying!!! (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻


	20. E x t r a 0 4 .

_ Meanwhile... _

Yesung watched as Heechul walked away from Eunhyuk, the latter gaping after his retreating back. Yesung’s face was unreadable as his fingers hovered over his phone.

**Eunhyuk** 🔒 @dalnim86

Do you want to unblock this user?

|  **Yes** ||  **No** |

Yesung stared at his screen for a moment before turning off his phone and walking away.


	21. S e v e n t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_S_ ** **e v e n t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_L_** eeteuk struggled not to sigh as he sent a glimpse towards the man seated in front of him. The said man seemed to wince under his gaze, but didn’t dare look at him again, preferring to play with his chopsticks instead.

_I don’t know how I’d gotten myself into this…_

Everything had started out well in the beginning. The five of them had been seated at one table, ordering their food excitedly and projecting insults at each other in the process.

Heechul was snarling at Kyuhyun, something about losing as a team in some game. Kyuhyun, on the other hand, was firing back insults of his own with a manic grin on his face, always the eager one to pick fights. Yesung was trying to steer them into a different topic but to no avail. Ryeowook, on the other hand, was practically ignoring Heechul, only talking to Leeteuk, Kyuhyun, and Yesung when he asked for their orders, something that Heechul took offense to but he thankfully didn’t say anything, only begrudgingly adding his own order at the end.

It was when they started eating that things began to go awry.

“Anyway, this coming school festival, Ryeowook and I will be performing onstage!” Kyuhyun was saying excitedly, blissfully unaware of his phone which was lighting up and buzzing repeatedly on the table. “So you guys have to cheer for us, OK?”

Yesung nodded enthusiastically while Heechul just waved a dismissive hand as he continued slurping his noodles, not noticing the pout Kyuhyun gave him at his flat response.

Noticing this, Ryeowook paused in his eating to tap Kyuhyun on the shoulder.

“Kyuhyun-ah, your phone,” he pointed out before going back to his meal.

Kyuhyun looked surprised, then picked up his phone to see who was calling him.

Leeteuk was seated next to him from the other side, so he was able to see the incredulity in Kyuhyun’s expression before the younger quickly covered it up with a bored look.

“Be right back,” Kyuhyun said casually as he brought his phone with him outside.

Leeteuk and Ryeowook watched him go, exchanging worried looks with each other.

“Is it…?” Ryeowook whispered.

“I don’t know…” Leeteuk replied honestly, his voice laced with concern. “Let’s just wait for him to tell us…”

Ryeowook nodded, and both of them fell silent.

Yesung noticed this and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Um… is there something wrong…?”

There was a brief moment of silence before Leeteuk spoke in response.

“It’s nothing, Yesung-ah,” he assured the younger in a soft voice.

Yesung focused his gaze on him, eyes imploring. “Really…?” he said worriedly. “Ah… Leeteuk-hyung, right?”

Leeteuk nodded, feeling a warm sensation bloom in his chest at the sound of his name from Yesung’s lips. “Yes.”

Yesung nodded in response, a warm smile gracing his features. Leeteuk smiled back, albeit awkwardly, because Heechul was suddenly staring at him and Yesung and it was making him feel uncomfortable as well.

_Right… he knows._

Thankfully, his internal tension was lifted when Kyuhyun came back, his expression grim as he slowly grabbed his bag from the chair.

“Um… Sorry guys, but I need to go,” he said quietly.

Leeteuk and Ryeowook stood up from their seats.

“Kyuhyun-ah…” Leeteuk said carefully, trying to get the younger to look him in the eyes. “Is… everything okay?”

Heechul looked overly confused by the entire situation, but he added, “Yeah… you haven’t even finished your food yet.”

Kyuhyun paused for a moment to hold Leeteuk’s gaze. “I’m fine…” he assured, though both Leeteuk and Ryeowook weren’t convinced. “My dad just wants me home right now. Said it’s an emergency.”

Ryeowook put his chopsticks down and began grabbing his own bag. “Let me come with you, then.”

Kyuhyun stopped him by the arm. Glancing at Leeteuk, he leaned towards Ryeowook’s ear. “Ryeong, nothing’s going to happen,” he whispered so that only the two of them could hear. “In fact, nothing _has_ ever happened in the past. Let it go and stay here with them.”

Ryeowook was stubborn. “ _No,_ ” he said defiantly, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “You should know by now that once I make a decision, I’ll never back out from it.”

Kyuhyun just watched as Ryeowook walked ahead of him, seemingly determined to come with him no matter what. Leeteuk, on the other hand, just placed a warm hand on his shoulder which somehow diffused the worries he had at that moment.

“Hyung, I…” he whispered. “This is the first time…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Leeteuk assured, squeezing his grip on the younger. “Ryeowook will be with you.”

Kyuhyun looked unsure all of a sudden. “You… won’t be coming with us, hyung?”

Leeteuk shook his head. “I can’t just leave them here with all this food… plus, I think it’ll be good if only Ryeowook comes with you. Your parents aren’t exactly…”

Leeteuk let a wry smile play on his lips. _They aren’t exactly fond of me..._

The silent, understandable message hung in the air and Kyuhyun could only nod, slinging his bag over his shoulder and turning towards Yesung and Heechul who were both watching the scene with perplexed expressions on their faces.

“Sorry, hyungs,” Kyuhyun apologized. “Maybe next time?”

Heechul was the first one to be snapped out of his stupor. “Ah, n—no, it’s fine. We can finish all this, no problem.”

Kyuhyun managed a snicker at that. “Enjoy them while you can, hyung,” he teased. “Pick up the tab for us later, OK?”

While the words were still processing inside Heechul’s head, Yesung suddenly stood up from his seat and strode over to Kyuhyun.

“Take care — ah, _ouch_!!”

The three of them watched in shock as Yesung suddenly tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor. Reflexively, Leeteuk reached out to him with his arms to stop the fall, but he was too late.

“ _Yesung-ah!_ ” Heechul said in horror as Yesung seemed to be groaning, clutching his ankle.

They were creating a commotion now. Some customers even stood up halfway from their seats, eyes wide as they watched Leeteuk and Kyuhyun help Yesung stand up from the ground.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Leeteuk asked frantically, glancing at Yesung’s ankle which the latter was holding painfully.

“I—I’m fine, but…” Yesung groaned slightly. “Ah… I think I need to go home and nurse this…”

“Ryeong and I are gonna go take a taxi,” Kyuhyun told him worriedly. “Come with us, hyung.”

Yesung looked at him pleadingly. “Really?”

Kyuhyun nodded. “Yeah! Here, let me help you.”

Without even a second thought, Kyuhyun placed Yesung’s arm around his shoulder and began to guide the older man outside. Leeteuk and Heechul could only stare at their backs, eyes wide in shock.

“Y—Yesung-ah…?” Heechul called out, seemingly frozen in his position. “You sure you’re okay?”

Yesung looked back from his shoulder and sent an encouraging smile at Heechul’s way. “Yeah… I’ll be fine, Heebong-ah.” His gaze then turned towards Leeteuk apologetically. “Hyung, I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s okay, just go on ahead, Yesung-ah,” Leeteuk said softly, feeling the foreign sensation of Yesung’s name coming out of his lips. “Kyuhyun-ah, take care of him.”

“I will, hyung.” With that, Kyuhyun gave a wave, and both of them were out the door. Leeteuk watched through the glass windows as, outside, Ryeowook seemed to question Kyuhyun about Yesung’s condition.

Meanwhile, Heechul was still frozen in his seat, still processing the entire situation inside his head.

_What…_

_What the heck…_

_Have… Have I just been left alone… with him??!_

Heechul didn’t know _how_ it possibly came to this despite witnessing everything himself. First off, he was currently sitting in a restaurant, in a large table with plenty of food, with _Leeteuk_ of all people. Not to mention that this particular restaurant was becoming a new favorite hangout for most students at their university! What would happen to him and his reputation when others saw them here?! It definitely looked like they were on a _date_! Right???

 _I can’t do this!!!_ Heechul panicked. _I’m straight — I don’t go on dates with… with guys…! People are going to get the wrong idea!_

_Damn that Yesex!!! How could he suddenly leave me here without warning!!_

Meanwhile, completely unaware of Heechul’s inner turmoil, Leeteuk started eating the noodles in front of him. He didn’t particularly care that he was left alone with Heechul since both of them had somewhat patched things up, but he _did_ admit that there was some sort of awkward tension between them. Perhaps it was the fact that they were still strangers? It had been no problem earlier since they had common friends like Kyuhyun and Ryeowook — never mind the latter though since he seemed to only be talking to Yesung — but now that it was the two of them left…

 _Should I say something?_ Leeteuk wondered to himself as he kept on eating. He had to admit, the noodles here tasted good. _I’m hungry though…_

Suddenly, Heechul stopped playing with his chopsticks.

“...I’m gonna kill them.”

Leeteuk almost choked on his food when Heechul suddenly spoke in that angry tone. Raising his head in surprise, he met Heechul’s irritated gaze as the latter’s ears seemed to be growing red from fury.

“What’s wrong?” Leeteuk asked, managing to swallow his noodles with the help of a glass of water nearby. “You should eat now before any of them grows cold. We have a lot to finish—”

“That’s _exactly_ the point!” Heechul growled. This time, his cheeks were flushed red. “Don’t you realize what they left us with??!”

Leeteuk blinked. “Huh? What do you mean…?”

Heechul smacked a palm across his face and howled in pain at the slap he made to himself. Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have been too dramatic…

Anyway!

“They left us their _tab_!!” Heechul hissed. “We’re gonna pay for _everything_ here! Do you have _money_?!”

Leeteuk stared at Heechul for such a long time that Heechul felt his anger dissipating, embarrassment beginning to swell in his chest instead.

_Damn it… my heart’s pounding like crazy again…!_

Meanwhile, Leeteuk stared at the entire table that was filled with food. He then stared at his open bag where his painfully-thin wallet was clearly in sight.

His gaze turned back to Heechul.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

And the explosion happened.

“ _SHIT!!!_ WHAT ARE WE GOING TO _DO_?!”


	22. E x t r a 0 5 .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_E_ ** **x t r a 0 5 .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_“W_** ill they be okay?” Ryeowook asked worriedly as he kept watching the road for a taxi to pass by. When he turned his head, he could see Leeteuk and Heechul quietly eating the food they left on the table from the restaurant’s glass windows. “They don’t even know each other, do they?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Kyuhyun said somewhat optimistically. “Heechul-hyung is loud and Leeteuk-hyung’s a good listener. They’ll live for tonight at least.”

 _Plus…_ Kyuhyun thought with an evil smile on his face. _Even though it was unexpected, I managed to get my revenge. Hah!_

_He doesn’t even seem like he’s realized the entire situation yet. Idiot~~_

“But Heechul-hyung isn’t even talking,” Ryeowook pointed out.

“Well… maybe he’s shy around strangers?” Kyuhyun said, shrugging his shoulders in disinterest.

Ryeowook gave him a flat look. “He didn’t seem _that_ shy when he told me that I had a girly voice the first time he met me.”

“Pfft—” Kyuhyun wanted to laugh at the obvious irritation on his friend’s face when suddenly a taxi stopped right in front of them.

“Ah, our ride’s here,” Kyuhyun said as Ryeowook immediately entered the passenger seat. He turned to Yesung who limped his way inside the vehicle. “You sure you don’t need any help, hyung?”

Yesung shook his head as he plastered himself at the far end. “I’m fine. Thank you, Kyuhyun-ah, Ryeowook-ah.”

“It’s no problem. So, where do you live? Let’s go there first so you can take care of your ankle,” Ryeowook said.

“I live near Central Park Avenue. Just drop me off at the apartment complex building beside the City Mall,” Yesung supplied.

Ryeowook nodded.

However, as soon as Kyuhyun closed the car door and the taxi began speeding off, Yesung suddenly relaxed in his seat, exhaling a long, deep breath.

“ _Yes!_ ” Yesung cheered to himself in a loud, happy whisper.

Kyuhyun and Ryeowook turned to stare at him in surprise and curiosity.

Yesung blinked, then quickly cleared his throat, massaging his ‘injured’ ankle. “I mean — _ahhh_ , it hurts a lot…” he moaned dramatically.

“What?? Where?”

“Should I massage it for you, hyung?”

While Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were busy fussing over him, Yesung resisted the urge to laugh out loud.

_I should’ve become an actor. Hah!_

_Sorry, Heebongie. Fighting!!_


	23. E i g h t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_E_ ** **i g h t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_A_** fter being scolded by the manager for causing a ruckus at the restaurant, Leeteuk and Heechul obediently sat still in their seats, their gazes fixed on the food in front of them with their appetite slowly vanishing. Leeteuk was still panicking about the receipt while Heechul was now pondering over a brand new problem as he read the new messages on his phone: _rumors_.

* * *

**iMessage**

* * *

**Ex-girlfriend #21**

Oppa

What are you doing eating alone with that guy?

Have you switched preferences or something? ㅋㅋㅋ

**You**

Huh???

Are you kidding me???

Are you here at the restaurant, too?!

**Ex-girlfriend #21**

No, of course not, oppa ㅋㅋㅋ

Didn’t you see?

Some girl from our uni took a pic of you two and posted it in our batch’s group chat.

**You**

WHAT!!

**Ex-girlfriend #21**

So it’s true??? ㅋㅋㅋ

Wah, oppa. Daebak!

You always hated eating alone with a guy when it’s not your best friend.

That’s what you always told us ㅋㅋㅋ

**You**

That was just a joke!

**Ex-girlfriend #21**

Haha, alright oppa.

Just expect that some will tease you for it tomorrow ㅋㅋㅋ

**You**

Argh!!

Just don’t let them spread any weird rumors about me, please… ㅠㅠ

And leave Leeteuk out of it.

**Ex-girlfriend #21**

Omo, how considerate.

Well, is you say so, oppa ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

  
  


* * *

_Damn it… I really_ am _gonna be so screwed with this,_ Heechul thought to himself, scowling. _Ugh, forget it… that's not important right now._

_How the hell are we gonna pay the bill??? I didn't bring a lot of money with me today._

_Yesex should’ve just stayed in his damn seat!!_

“What are we gonna _do_?” Leeteuk wailed for what seemed like the fourth time this night.

“W—Well…” Heechul finally spoke up timidly. “We can… you know, apologize and… maybe wash some dishes?”

“And risk getting scolded again?? Didn’t you hear the manager reprimanding us earlier?” Leeteuk pointed out with a shudder. “She was really scary.”

Heechul fought to repress his own shiver. He couldn’t deny that fact; that old woman’s death glare was surely gonna be in his nightmares later.

Leeteuk sighed. Heechul played with his chopsticks, his mind blank. Leeteuk took out his wallet, scanned the contents, and let out a small sob before putting it back inside his bag. Heechul patted his pockets desperately, praying for a few dollars to magically produce inside them.

Leeteuk went back to sighing, and Heechul then returned to playing with his chopsticks.

They did this repeatedly for what seemed to be like hours when in reality only a few minutes had passed.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Leeteuk suddenly spoke up in an urgent tone while taking out his phone from his pocket.

“Hey, we can’t just be like sitting ducks here forever,” he said, rapidly typing on his phone. “We need to get help from someone! We have no other choice now!”

Heechul raised an eyebrow. “The question is, _who_ can we get some help from? In case you forgot, our oh-so _nice_ ‘friends’ just ditched us here earlier, remember?”

Leeteuk pressed his phone against his ear and shushed Heechul, causing the latter to give him an affronted look in response. However, Heechul quickly leaned back against his seat in defeat, pouting.

Nobody had ever shushed him like that before. Everyone _liked_ to hear him talk! Or nag. Or scold. Whatever.

Hearing his beautiful voice was usually enough, though…

After a while, a frown played on Leeteuk’s lips. “Hmm… Donghae isn’t answering…” he muttered to himself.

Heechul blinked. “You mean Lee Donghae? That cute-looking dancer?”

Leeteuk nodded absently. “Yeah… ah, right! No wonder.” Leeteuk shook his head in exasperation at himself. “He told me earlier that he was going to have dinner with his family.” Sighing, he tapped his phone again and pressed it against his ear.

“Who’re you calling now?” Heechul asked.

This time, Leeteuk’s expression softened into something akin to mischief.

“I’ll call Eunhyuk instead.”

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_E_** unhyuk stretched his arms and yawned as he sat on the bench by the bus stop, waiting for the transportation to arrive. He and the others had been practicing till late and were only dismissed just now. His limbs were aching and he just wanted to get home, take a hot, relaxing shower, and eat a lot of food till he dropped.

While he was lost in his thoughts, his phone suddenly vibrated inside his pocket. Wondering who was calling him at this hour, he took it out and looked at the caller ID.

“Oh? It’s Teukie-hyung,” Eunhyuk said to himself as he picked up the call. “Yeah, hyung?”

Leeteuk’s voice on the other end was strangely filled with amusement. “Eunhyuk-ah,” he greeted. “Have you eaten yet?”

Eunhyuk shook his head, but then remembered that he was on a phone call and resisted the urge to face-palm himself. “No, not yet, hyung. I’m just here waiting for my bus to arrive.”

“Really? Great timing. Do you want to join me for dinner right now?”

“ _Dinner?_ Really??” Eunhyuk’s lips widened into a happy grin. “Where are you right now, hyung? I’m _starved_!”

“I’m at that new tteokbokki restaurant near the university. I already have food here for us, so hurry up before it gets cold.”

“R—Really?! You’re the _best_ , hyung! I’m on my way there right now!”

Eunhyuk ended the call excitedly, too focused on thoughts of delicious food to even register the faint, evil laughter Leeteuk emitted at the other end of the line before he hung up.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_“Y_** ah…” Heechul said, his eyes wide. “Why did you call him??”

Leeteuk placed his phone back in his pocket and picked up his chopsticks casually. “He’s my friend, so why not? Plus, he's rich.”

“Wow… you extortionist…” Heechul muttered to himself.

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“H—Huh…? No, I—I was just talking to myself.”

Leeteuk cast him a strange look. “Okay…” he drawled, unconvinced.

Heechul averted his eyes and squirmed under Leeteuk’s piercing, judgmental gaze. He gingerly picked up his chopsticks and began to eat as well.

As time passed for what seemed like half an hour, Heechul found himself tensing more and more with the awkward situation he found himself in. Not only was he eating alone with a _guy_ — someone who was _not_ his best friend —for the first time, but he was also getting quite paranoid about the ‘repercussions’ this might give him. He had already been proven right when his nosy ex-girlfriend messaged him about the picture in a group chat, and the fact that he had always told everyone that it was completely awkward for him to eat alone with a guy that wasn’t Yesung was a complete embarrassment to his reputation and pride.

To be fair though, he really _never_ should have said that; now _all_ the guys and girls at school were going to make fun of him for this!

Also…

Heechul raised his head slightly to send a glance towards the man across him who was leisurely eating his noodles. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the first time they were in each other's company for a long period of time. Back then, they had only interacted with each other because of the misunderstandings they shared.

And now… they were eating together. Alone. In a table at the farthest corner which made it seem like they wanted their own privacy.

Heechul wanted to bang his head repeatedly on the table. Why oh _why_ was he making such a big deal out of this??? Was this kind of over thinking really necessary??

_And why… do I only feel this awkward and clumsy around him…?_

Heechul looked up from his bowl and chanced another glimpse at Leeteuk, hoping that he was inconspicuous enough not to be noticed.

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Because this time, Leeteuk was staring right back at him.

“What is it?” Leeteuk asked softly, his expression displaying vague concern and confusion. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Huh? N—No!” Heechul denied immediately, too flustered to even stop himself from stammering like an idiot. “Th—There’s nothing there at all! Your face is very, uh… clean. Y—Yeah, that’s it…!”

Leeteuk’s expression morphed into something unreadable. “Then…” he said slowly, his gaze penetrating. “If there's nothing on my face… Why do you keep looking at me?”

Heechul swallowed nervously. _How—How am I supposed to explain that?!_ he exclaimed inside his mind.

In full-blown panic mode, Heechul blurted out the first thing that came to his head.

“Be—Because you look handsome…?”

The silence that followed afterwards was so deafening that Heechul almost believed that he was dreaming and floating in the sky.

Yes. Yes… perhaps he really _didn’t_ say that kind of atrocious thing in front of Leeteuk… yes, maybe he had just _imagined_ himself saying that out loud.

Right…?

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“You…” Leeteuk began in an incredulous voice. “You think I'm _what…_?”

Heechul exploded in panic.

“Y—Yeah! I—I _do_ think that you look different without your glasses on!” he blurted out, trying to salvage whatever dignity he had left.

“Huh?” Leeteuk blinked in surprise. “...That's not what I heard…”

“W—What did you hear??” Heechul said, gulping nervously.

_Take the bait, take the bait…_

Leeteuk’s lips parted open in shock, but he closed them quickly. Still blinking rapidly, he pressed a hand against his mouth, averting his gaze towards the food in front of him. “Ah… Maybe I was just hearing things, then… sorry.”

Heechul could practically _feel_ the relief flooding in his body as his shoulders sagged against the chair.

 _My god… Thank goodness he's an idiot that’s easily fooled…_ Heechul thought to himself gratefully.

Meanwhile, Leeteuk was still shaking his head slightly. “I must be tired…” he muttered to himself as he went back to eating.

Heechul was about to do the same when a shadow suddenly fell upon their table. Leeteuk paused in the middle of wrapping his meat with lettuce while Heechul almost dropped his chopsticks in surprise.

“Teukie-hyung — _oh…_ o—oh??!” Eunhyuk’s expression immediately turned into shock and fear. “ _H—Heechul-hyung?!!_ What—What are you _doing_ here??? I—I thought—”

“Ah, Hyuk, you're finally here!” Leeteuk greeted cheerfully. “Go ahead and join us. You can sit at that empty seat beside Heechul.”

Eunhyuk gaped at him. “Huh?! Wh—Why can't I sit beside you??”

Leeteuk patted the bag that was sitting innocently on the chair beside him. “Because it's occupied,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his voice implying that there was no room for argument.

Heechul’s eyes lit up at this opportunity to tease the younger. “That’s right, Hyukkie,” he said smugly, patting the empty chair on his right. “Come sit here beside your hyung~”

Eunhyuk stared at Leeteuk and Heechul’s similar gleeful expressions — _albeit both with different intentions in mind_ — and desperately wished that he could crawl into a hole nearby and hide.

* * *

**TWITTER**

* * *

**Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

Are… you… kidding me… ㅠㅠ

* * *

 **Eunhyuk** @dalnim86

NOOOOOOOOOOO ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

* * *

 **Heechul** @kimheenim

Finally, I’m the one who’s gonna do the teasing this time ㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

 **Leeteuk** @special070183

Cupid Teukie, at your service 😇


	24. N i n e t e e n .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

 **_N_ ** **i n e t e e n .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**_“W_** ait a minute, why’s there so many food on the table?” Eunhyuk voiced out, eyes wide at the amount of dishes displayed before him. “Hyungs… you ordered _all_ this??”

“Yeah, we did,” Heechul responded, slinging an arm around Eunhyuk’s shoulder.

The latter flinched at the sudden gesture, but he continued on, “Also… why are you two eating together?” he asked curiously. “No offense, but… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two hang out with each other before…”

At that remark, both Heechul and Leeteuk stiffened in their seats, their eyes sending each other inadvertent glances. While Heechul’s expression displayed borderline panic, Leeteuk’s was curious and speculative.

Thankfully, before Heechul could stammer out a lame excuse and embarrass himself once more, Leeteuk spoke first.

“We were eating here with friends, but they left because of an emergency,” Leeteuk said honestly. “So, only the two of us are left here.”

“Oh?” Eunhyuk said as he began to take a bite out of a kimbap. “Who? Kyu and Wookie?”

“Yes,” Leeteuk said with a smile as he continued eating his noodles. “They left with Yesung.”

Eunhyuk stopped chewing and rested his gaze on Leeteuk. “Yesung-hyung…?” he blurted out. “You mean _Yesung-hyung_ was here with you guys?”

“Yeah, he was,” Heechul responded. “Why? Are you guys close?”

Eunhyuk almost sputtered out his rice. “What? N—No, we’re not!” he denied instantly, but only realized too late how suspicious that sounded.

Heechul frowned, but continued to eat more rice cakes. “Okay then. Just asking.” He then turned to Eunhyuk with a sly grin on his face. “Anyway, you like me, right?”

Eunhyuk, who had just barely continued chewing again, choked on his rice. “ _Wh—Wha???!!_ ” He began coughing violently.

Leeteuk immediately shoved a glass of water towards him. Eunhyuk grabbed it gratefully and gulped the liquid down his throat.

“What’s with you?” Heechul laughed. “Why are you getting flustered so easily?”

“I’m not!” Eunhyuk protested.

“But you’re blushing!” Heechul pointed out with a chuckle, obviously enjoying this. “Look at your red cheeks—”

Eunhyuk whipped his head towards Leeteuk helplessly. “ _Hyung!_ ” he cried out desperately, trying so hard to ignore Heechul’s amused snickers beside him.

However, his one and only possible savior Leeteuk did not even look at him as he continued eating more pieces of samgyupsal.

“Hyung!” Eunhyuk repeated, hoping so badly that Leeteuk just hadn’t heard him. “Heechul-hyung’s teasing me too much!”

At that remark, Leeteuk’s head lifted and his gaze met Eunhyuk’s.

“Hyuk-ah,” Leeteuk said softly with a warm smile. “Don’t take it negatively… Heechul’s just warming up to you in his own way.” He then leaned closer towards Eunhyuk to whisper into the latter’s ear excitedly. “Besides, isn’t that good news?! That means he’s starting to accept your feelings for him!”

 _Wait. WHAT?!_ Eunhyuk screamed inside his head.

_NO!_

_NONONONONONONO!_

“HYUNG!” Eunhyuk burst out desperately, startling Leeteuk out of his wits. “I’m sorry, but it really _isn’t_ what you thi—!”

Suddenly, his words were cut off by something warm and solid that was forcefully placed inside his open mouth. As he sat there, frozen in his position, his mind reeling, he slowly realized that he had been forcefully fed with a piece of — admittedly, _very_ tasty — meat.

“Don’t be so loud, geez,” Heechul scolded as he retracted his chopsticks from Eunhyuk’s mouth. “Just focus on finishing the food. Look, we still have a lot left on the table!”

“But… _But_ …!” Eunhyuk tried to protest.

“No more buts!” Heechul scolded. “If you continue to be a spoilsport, I’m gonna have to feed you everything all night! But, hold on…” A devilish smile curved Heechul’s lips. “You’d actually _want_ that, right?”

Eunhyuk’s jaw dropped open.

Leeteuk tried to cover his laugh with his hand but failed miserably. “Yah, aren’t you being too forward with him?” he scolded teasingly.

Heechul’s eyes darted towards him in surprise, not expecting Leeteuk to join in on his fun.

Suddenly, he felt self-conscious for some reason he didn’t understand.

“W—Well, that’s because he’s being too whiny...” Heechul responded weakly.

Eunhyuk took that moment to speak up again. “No, I’m no—”

As if on reflex, Heechul picked up another piece of meat and shoved it into Eunhyuk’s open, protesting mouth.

“ _Mmph!!_ ” Eunhyuk, realizing that he really had no choice, whimpered silently as he chewed the meat inside his mouth.

 _At least their food is delicious…_ he tried to assuage the sulky bitterness in his chest.

_Somehow… why do I get this feeling that I’m just being tricked…?_

_..._

_No, Teukie-hyung won’t do that to me… and he won’t let Heechul-hyung, either._

_I’m being too paranoid..._

And that, unfortunately, was why poor, naïve Eunhyuk was always easily tricked by his _kind_ , innocent hyungs.

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

Finally, after an hour, all the food on the table was finished. While Eunhyuk was rummaging his bag for his wallet, Leeteuk caught Heechul’s eye and began to signal something to him. Heechul stared at him, confused, until he spotted Leeteuk inconspicuously showing him a ‘rock’ gesture with his hand.

Heechul got the signal immediately and began clapping his hands.

“All right, since it’s no fun if all of us will pay, let’s play rock-paper-scissors and let only _one_ person pay for the entire meal!”

That caught Eunhyuk’s attention as his head immediately swirled towards Heechul in delight. “That sounds fun, hyung!” he said enthusiastically.

Heechul resisted the urge to laugh aloud. Eunhyuk just made it too easy sometimes; he was like a gullible little sheep who couldn’t even recognize a wolf in disguise.

Leeteuk raised his hand with a nod. “I’m in, too.”

“Okay, so all of us agree,” Heechul concluded with satisfaction in his voice. “Then let’s start right away so that there’ll be no cheating involved,” he added smoothly.

Leeteuk brought a hand up to cover his mouth before he could let out a snicker.

Meanwhile, naïve Eunhyuk was nodding his agreement to everything and began to prepare himself for the game. When Heechul shouted out the signal, their hands immediately showed themselves.

Leeteuk → Rock

Heechul → Rock

Eunhyuk → Scissors

“WHAT!” Eunhyuk exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest due to shock. “It’s _ME_?!”

“HAHAHA!” Heechul laughed aloud, his voice thankfully blending in with the constant noise in the restaurant. “Too bad. You snooze, you lose!”

“Why is it always me??!” Eunhyuk complained.

Leeteuk patted Eunhyuk on the back as a gesture of comfort.

“Sorry about this, Hyukjae,” Leeteuk said in amusement. “But you _did_ lose, so…”

“I know, I know…” Eunhyuk interrupted, still sulking. It wasn’t really the cost that he was bothered about; it was actually more about the blow to his pride that he received.

In all honesty, he would’ve preferred _Heechul_ to lose and see him go crazy over the huge tab he needed to pay. Unfortunately, Heechul got away with it scot-free, so Eunhyuk had no choice but to accept his defeat.

 _I came here to eat dinner peacefully but why does it feel like I’ve been conned…?_ he wondered to himself as he grudgingly took out his wallet.

_…_

_Eyyy, I’m thinking too much again..._

While Eunhyuk was busy mourning over his loss, Heechul nudged Leeteuk slightly. Leeteuk turned to him with a questioning look.

Heechul didn’t say anything, but he raised his hand shyly, still finding it difficult to look at Leeteuk in the eyes.

Leeteuk stared at him for a moment, and then his lips curved into a smile.

“Success,” he whispered conspiratorially as he met Heechul’s open palm with a quick high-five.


	25. T w e n t y .

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

**_T_ w e n t y .**

࿇ ══━━━━✥◈✥━━━━══ ࿇

  
  


**“F** ****inally!” Eunhyuk breathed out as they exited the restaurant, feeling the cold night air blowing on his face. “We’re going home! I’m stuffed.”

Heechul couldn’t help but laugh as he wrapped an arm around Eunhyuk’s shoulder. “Did you enjoy the food?”

Eunhyuk nodded, too satisfied to feel flustered by the way Heechul was pulling him close. “Yeah!” he agreed. “It would’ve been more fun if you guys paid for it, though…”

“Think of it this way, Eunhyuk-ah,” Leeteuk spoke up in amusement. “You managed to make your hyungs happy by paying for all that delicious food. Don’t you agree?”

Eunhyuk looked thoughtful for a moment before he eventually nodded. “True… I wouldn’t have minded if it were only _you,_ Teukie-hyung, but I don’t feel that good because Heechul-hyung is here too — _ouch!!_ ”

Leeteuk watched as Heechul elbowed Eunhyuk quite painfully at the side and instantly felt bad for feeling like laughing. Eunhyuk howled in pain and glared at his hyung for a brief moment before he caught the scowl on Heechul’s face and whimpered in fear instead.

“This brat!” Heechul cursed. “Is that the way you treat your hyung?”

Eunhyuk immediately raised up his arms in a form of surrender, eyes wide in panic. “I—I’m sorry!! Please forgive me, hyung!”

“Apology NOT accepted!” Heechul barked out instantly. “You now owe me at least five game items for our next raid!”

“ _Five?!_ ” Eunhyuk’s eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. “That’s too expensive! You’d become a powerhouse if you acquire those exclusive armor—”

Leeteuk was already tuning out their conversation by that time, shaking his head internally. Eunhyuk was already gaming too much to the point where it began affecting his grades. He couldn’t even recall _seeing_ Eunhyuk studying nowadays. Did the kid even remember to do his homework? Donghae, Kyuhyun, and Ryeowook were in almost the same classes as him but Eunhyuk seemed to be the _least_ busy among those three hard workers...

While Leeteuk was busy worrying for his friend, Heechul and Eunhyuk's heated conversation came to a stop when the latter suddenly paused in his tracks to look around.

“What?” Heechul asked, puzzled.

“We almost passed through this intersection! Thank god I noticed it,” Eunhyuk said, emitting a relieved sigh. “Well, bye, you two. This is where we part ways, I guess?”

“Huh?” Heechul was staring at him, looking dumbstruck.

At this moment, Leeteuk had tuned back into their conversation and looked quite nonchalant. “Ah, right, your bus stop is that way, right?” he recalled, turning to Eunhyuk with a smile.

Eunhyuk nodded. “Yeah. I'll be going first. Bye, hyungs!” He gave them a friendly wave before starting to walk towards the opposite direction.

Leeteuk waved back with a gentle smile while Heechul did the same, albeit with a clueless expression on his face.

When Eunhyuk disappeared into the corner, Leeteuk turned and began to walk forward. Heechul stood in his position, suddenly feeling completely awkward. After a few seconds, however, he berated himself for standing there like an idiot and started to follow behind Leeteuk who didn't seem to mind the fact that he was there. When Heechul peered at his direction curiously, he saw that Leeteuk seemed to be typing something on his phone. Messaging someone, perhaps. Maybe it was Kyuhyun since Leeteuk seemed quite worried for the kid earlier at the restaurant.

All of a sudden, Heechul felt like a child who was trotting behind his parent. Usually, whenever he was with others, his mouth would go on and on without stopping, and he always had something to talk about whether it was how his day went so far or regarding something he'd been wanting to complain about for a while. Knowing him, however, he _always_ had something to complain, because he was sassy like that.

This time, however, his mind drew a complete blank. He didn't even know how many minutes of awkward silence had crept by as he kept staring at a random spot on the back of Leeteuk's head, wondering if he should say anything or not.

Unconsciously wringing his hands together in nervousness, Heechul thought hard about whether or not he and Leeteuk had things in common. Did Leeteuk like to play games? Well, there was probably no harm in trying to ask that, right?

Heechul cleared his throat and walked a bit faster until he reached Leeteuk's right side. “Hey...” he began, his heart almost stopping when Leeteuk turned his head towards him curiously. “Do you, uh... do you play games?” he asked lamely, cursing himself for almost stumbling on his words.

Leeteuk looked at him for a duration of three seconds before he said simply, “No.”

“Oh.” Heechul swallowed before trying to start a conversation again. “What about... anime? Do you watch that?”

Leeteuk shook his head. “No... I don't watch TV that much.”

“Manga?” Heechul asked almost desperately, still trying to find something they had in common. “Do you read manga or any kind of comic?”

Leeteuk looked like he was starting to get bored. “No, I'm not really interested in that kind of stuff,” he responded politely.

And then he turned his attention back to his phone, indicating that the attempt at conversation was over.

Heechul wanted to dig up a grave from the ground below him and bury himself there. Why was this so _embarrassing_?? He should've just _stayed_ quiet! _Why_ did he have to run his mouth and blabber about random, childish things like video games and anime??

But wait, wasn't that what guys were usually interested in? His friends were almost always hanging out at internet cafés, either playing games or surfing the web. Most of them read manga and watched anime, too!

Heechul stared at Leeteuk. _What an oddball,_ he thought to himself. _Is he one of those studious guys who spend most of their time at the library?_

_Somebody should grab his arm and haul him out of that boring place and show him how to have some fun..._

While Heechul was pondering over his next move, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of thunder in the distance.

“What was that?” he wondered aloud, his gaze immediately sweeping upwards as he warily surveyed the starless sky. To his dismay, he couldn't see the moon anywhere, and there were, alarmingly, some gray clouds hovering overhead.

_Don't tell me..._

_Aw man, just when the bus stop is only about a block away!_

Heechul immediately turned to Leeteuk. “Hey, you got an umbr—”

Just as the words slipped out of his lips, another sound of thunder roared in their ears, causing Leeteuk to hastily place his phone inside his pocket. Heechul, on the other hand, began to frantically look around for possible nearby shelter.

Leeteuk, being the calmer of the two, searched through the surroundings with his eyes. Twenty seconds later, he spotted a closed café shop about two meters away with a hanging roof by the entrance. He immediately pointed towards that direction.

“Let's take shelter over there,” he said to Heechul who turned at the sound of his voice. “I think it's going to rain.”

This time, lightning struck the sky, momentarily illuminating the outline of the clouds. A light sprinkle came down, causing Leeteuk and Heechul to hasten their steps towards the shop.

When they finally reached the place, heavy rain instantly began falling across the sidewalk, spattering against the pavement. Heechul flinched as some stray drops hit his bare skin and he stepped backwards, trying to seek more shelter from the small space that was given to them. When his back met the wall, he instinctively drew his arms together and squeezed them across his chest.

“Afraid of a little rain?”

Startled, Heechul whipped his head towards his companion who was looking at him with an amused smile on his face. That annoying bastard Leeteuk was laughing at him on the inside, he was _sure_ of it!

Immediately, Heechul puffed his chest out and stood straighter, trying to look convincing. “I’m not!” he said defensively. “I just don’t have a coat, that’s all.”

Leeteuk studied him for a moment and Heechul froze in his position, his throat suddenly going dry at the other man’s casual introspection of his face sweeping down to his body.

Just when Leeteuk was about to say something, Heechul spotted a pair of blaring headlights nearby.

“A bus!” he cried out gratefully, suddenly just wanting to get away from this slightly awkward situation. “Let’s go, Leeteuk!”

He’d been so sure that the other was going to mirror his excitement, but that surprisingly wasn’t the case. Instead, Leeteuk grasped his wrist, gently yet effectively halting him from making any wide movements.

“Hold on,” he stalled. “I need to—”

But Heechul’s attention was being taken away by the bus that was starting to disappear from his sight. If they didn’t make a run for it now, they would _never_ get on! And who knew how long they’d have to wait for the next bus to come? It was already late at night after all, and Heechul was starting to miss the warmth of his beloved bed.

“Yah, it’s no joke! Leeteuk, let’s go before it can leave us behind!” Heechul yelled out as he broke away from Leeteuk’s grasp and began sprinting towards the direction of the bus stop. He didn’t want to wait for the other man anymore; what mattered was that at least _one_ of them would be able to reach the bus on time. If he managed to get by the doors, he’d be able to tell the driver that his friend was going to join him soon.

The rain was getting louder and heavier by the second. The night was so dark and foggy that the city lights in their surroundings were starting to appear distant and blurred. Heechul cursed internally as the raindrops pelted on his arms and drenched his clothes. The material stuck to his skin in an uncomfortable way and he was starting to feel his pants clinging to his legs, but he endured it and tried to run as fast as he could. Oh, how he _hated_ the rain. Next time, he would bring an umbrella no matter what!

“Ahjussi. _Ahjussi_!” Heechul called out just as he finally reached the stop, seeing the last passenger disappearing inside the doors. However, the sound of the rain was louder than his voice; the streetlights were flickering and the fog was growing heavier by the second, so he couldn’t be seen clearly, either.

When the bus drove away after the doors closed, Heechul stopped in his tracks, gaping after the vehicle with wide eyes and gasping breaths.

“Aiish!” Heechul swore, planting a palm onto his face in frustration. “If I were only a few seconds early…!”

_Damn it!_ he cursed. _Now I’m soaking wet… and for_ nothing _!_

_If I knew this was gonna happen, I wouldn’t have left that roof at all!_

Still mourning his pitiful state, Heechul didn’t even hear Leeteuk’s calm footsteps approaching him from behind until he heard the faint, distinctive sound of rain pattering against thick material. But before he could attempt to turn around, he felt something light and comfortable drape over his head, making his heart skip a beat in surprise.

“Stupid,” he heard a voice say dryly from behind. “You're so impulsive, you know that?”

Heechul spun around to face an amused-looking Leeteuk. “But I almost caught that bus,” he whined.

Leeteuk sighed with a small smile, hovering his coat over his head to protect himself from the rain. It was at that moment when Heechul realized what had actually happened.

Lifting his hand, he tried to touch his hair but was met with smooth material instead.

_Holy shit..._ Heechul's breath hitched in his throat as his mind spun with wild, random thoughts. _What kind of scenario is this...?!_

He stared at Leeteuk who was now urging him to take shelter towards the nearby bus stop since they were both soaking wet now anyway. Still in awe, Heechul followed behind him as though he'd been put into a trance of some sort.

When they reached the stop, Leeteuk immediately sat down on the empty bench, sighing in relief as a roof was now over his head once more. Heechul hesitantly took a seat beside him, taking Leeteuk's coat off his head and placing it on his lap.

_Wait a second… this… this feels so weird…!_ Heechul thought to himself as his mind regained some clarity, frantically putting some distance between him and Leeteuk as he scooted off towards the far end of the bench.

Leeteuk noticed this action and frowned a bit. “What's wrong now?” He sounded confused. “And why aren't you wearing the coat? Aren't you cold?”

Heechul gazed at him blankly. “Ah, the coat... y—yeah, thanks...” As if he was put under a spell, Heechul obeyed and wrapped the coat around his shivering body this time, almost letting out a sigh of relief as the warmth provided him a convenient sense of comfort.

Leeteuk shook his head. _He's weird,_ he thought to himself as he exhaled a single puff of air, head tilting upwards to gaze at the raindrops pattering against the transparent roof. The surroundings were dark and the streetlights only managed to illuminate the fog. As Leeteuk cast his gaze forward, he noticed a line of vehicles from afar in one of the nearby roads, indicating traffic.

_Looks like both of us are going to be waiting here for a while._ Leeteuk sighed as he glanced over to see what his companion was doing.

Heechul was just sitting there, eyes downcast as he seemed to be fixated on a random spot on the ground below him. His body was shivering as he clutched the coat closer to himself, and Leeteuk could also see a stray dry leaf that was stuck in his hair near his right ear. It probably dropped on him from the trees when he ran out of the shop earlier like a maniac.

_I don't think Mr. Popular would be happy to let anyone see him looking like that once we get on the bus..._ Leeteuk thought to himself absently as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Hey,” he called out. However, he received no response.

_Is it because of the rain?_ Leeteuk wondered. “Hey,” he tried again.

However, he failed once more to gain Heechul's attention. _What on earth is he thinking so deeply about?_ Leeteuk pondered as he sighed and began to scoot over towards the man instead.

The sudden movement must've been registered in Heechul's peripheral vision, because he immediately started backing away until he hit his back against the wall. “ _What?!_ ” he exclaimed, placing a hand over his racing heart. “Don't move so unexpectedly like that. You scared me!”

Leeteuk stared at him, looking unimpressed. “Why are you so easy to scare? You're a man, aren't you? Act like one.”

_Excuse me?_ Heechul almost squawked out in indignation.

“Hey, you listen here,” Heechul snapped as he turned his body fully towards Leeteuk and leaned towards him to make himself heard over the loud sound of the rain. “I'm the _manliest_ man out there. You can't even compare my manliness to an ordinary g—”

Suddenly, Leeteuk's face was right in front of him, hand lifting from his side to reach towards the side of Heechul's cheek. Heechul's words died in his throat right then and there, his heartbeat completely stopping at their sudden close proximity. At that moment, he could see Leeteuk's entire features up close, so uncomfortably _close_ that it felt like he was staring at a static photograph in that instant.

With his sharp yet boyish features, dark-brown eyes, and tanned skin, Leeteuk looked a _lot_ different compared to Heechul's androgynous face and milky-white complexion. Where Heechul's appearance radiated delicate, pretty-boy looks, Leeteuk's gave off a quiet, gentle aura in a way that, when one looked closer, he could actually be considered as seriously _attractive._

Although Heechul only stared at him for a few seconds, that image of Leeteuk was suddenly imprinted in his mind and memory. And when Leeteuk leaned closer, cold fingers touching the warm skin of his ear, Heechul was absolutely driven into a panic.

“W—W—W—What are you _doing_???!” Heechul stammered out, immediately backing away and wrapping his arms around his chest as if he needed to protect his chastity.

Leeteuk looked shocked by his unexpected reaction. “I—I was just...” he said, slowly lifting his hand to reveal the dry leaf that was pinched between his thumb and forefinger. “...taking this out of your hair...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...Oh.”

There was another beat of silence.

Leeteuk was still staring at him in bemusement. “What... What did you _think_ I was doing?”

...Was it possible to die from embarrassment? Heechul had never wanted to die like this _so_ much his entire life.

“N—Nothing,” he managed to croak out as he quickly unwrapped his arms from his body.

Leeteuk didn't break his stare. “Heechul-ssi, you've been... acting a little weird recently,” he spoke slowly, his eyebrows knitting together in thought. “You flinch easily, you stammer a lot, and you're quick to get scared over the little things. Is everything okay?”

Heechul swallowed. Had he really been acting _that_ strange? “I'm... I'm fine. Don't worry about me.” He turned away from Leeteuk, unable to bear the weight of the latter's intense gaze anymore. It was making him feel even more nervous for some reason.

But _what_ was he so nervous about, anyway...?

“Are you sure?” Leeteuk sounded unconvinced, his words laced with concern.

Heechul shut his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I'm _fine,_ ” he repeated in a steady voice this time. “Why do _you_ care, anyway?” he couldn't help but add, his tone sounding like a grumble of resignation.

“I was just asking—”

“Well, you got your answer,” Heechul snapped, trying to mask his embarrassment by attempting to act irritated. “Now leave me alone, you brat.”

And with that, silence enveloped them once more. Heechul prayed fervently in his head that the bus was going to arrive soon and save him from spending more time with this frustrating man—

Suddenly, the sound of a chuckle drifted into his ears. Startled, Heechul turned towards his companion who was, indeed, trying to stifle his laughter by pressing his fist against his mouth. However, when he saw that Heechul was now looking at him, he withdrew his hand and didn't bother to restrain another chuckle this time.

Heechul stared at him, unable to comprehend the reason why Leeteuk was laughing at him like that. Was he _mocking_ him or something? If he was, then _darn it,_ no more Mr. Nice Guy this time, this was going to be a full-blown _war—_

“...You're so weird,” Leeteuk said, still chuckling softly, and Heechul suddenly couldn't help but think of how _good_ the man looked when he was smiling like that, when his lips curved so widely his dimple began forming, “but you... you're really cute when you act this way.”

  
  


One sentence. One _fucking_ sentence.

_One_ sentence was all it took to make Kim Heechul blush like a damn schoolgirl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I won't post this update on my Twitter AU thread for a while due to the issue with Ryeowook since many of us are focusing on protecting him right now. If you wanna support, go check out [@alwayswithwook](https://twitter.com/alwayswithwook) on Twitter to know what you can help with~! ♡♡♡
> 
> P.S.: Vote for Suju on [Billboard Fan Army](https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/fan-army/9439523/fan-army-2020) if you haven't yet! ♡  
> Hope you guys have had a great day/night so far. Don't give up. Fighting!! :D


End file.
